After 66
by Rising Emberin
Summary: Having been created near the end of The Clone Wars, deployed to aid Commander Cody's assault to capture or destroy Grievous on Utapau with General Kenobi, he witnesses the beginning of The Jedi Purge, as Commander Cody receives Order 66. Now Smasher lives on Osarian, having deserted his troop, he keeps the company of 4 kids, but will they survive the Empire's hold on the planet?
1. Chapter 1

So, talking to my mom, a few months back, an idea sprung to mind: What if there were clones who didn't obey Order 66, who turned away from the Empire, and still supported the Republic, despite the fact that it pretty much didn't exist anymore? I decided to start writing on it, in a clone's point of view, and this is how it turned out! Sorry for the paragraphs, that they're not exactly writer-worthy, but I just tend to write, and worry less about the paragraphs. Thanks for taking the time to read it, though, and I hope you guys like it!

Chapter 1

I still remember the day Order 66 was given. It was a dark day for the Republic, and the day I had to choose between following my brothers, or following the Jedi. I was just a rookie, then. Freshly dropped on Utapu with Commander Cody and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I may have been new there, but I still had heard many stories. That's why I found it so hard to believe when Commander Cody gave the order to shoot down General Kenobi as he rode away. I had watched him fall, heard him fall into water, and from that height, he was likely dead. I still held onto hope that he survived. After Cody issued more orders, I approached him hesitantly. "Commander, with all due respect, was there a reason for us to shoot down General Kenobi?" He stood there facing me. I could tell he was staring, but as to whether he was angry, or debating what to say, I can't say, even to this day. When he spoke, though, his voice was eerily calm. "What's your name, shiny?" "Smasher, sir." "Smasher. We received orders directly from the Chancellor himself. Would you like to question them?" I stood tall. "No, sir!" "Good. There is a reason for the orders, but it is not our place for us to question them. We are soldiers. We follow orders, not question them. Understood?" "Yes sir." He gave a curt nod and walked off, shouting more orders. I sighed and pressed a hand to my helmet. "Ah, don't worry, Smasher, the General probably lost his way or something like that. You know that there's stories of how Jedi can go over to the Sith." I nodded. "You're right, Tapper, that's probably it." I knew that it wasn't, though. General Kenobi wasn't that type of Jedi, I was sure. I took the nudge from my brother, and gave him one of my own, then continued on with the nagging feeling that things were just starting to get bad.

"Smash, wake up! It's your turn to patrol" I groaned and got up, rubbing the back of my neck. "I don't see why we do this anymore. It's just a waste of time, nobody has stumbled across us, and we're just going to move again in two days." The look the kid in front of me gave said that it wasn't going to stop, at least not without things getting a lot tougher for me around here. I sighed and sat up. "Look, Chakshu, I'm just saying that sometimes, maybe we can let up. I know battle zones, too. I actually participated in them, too." "Daksh agrees with me that we should keep up the patrols. It's just a precaution." I sighed. "What does Jayin think? And Charin?" "Jayin says, and I quote, 'I don't care what it takes to get out of this camp and away from you and your brother. Just as long as there's an excuse.' Charin just shrugged and said it doesn't matter. Like usual." "Of course. Alright, kid. You've got your way, this time." Chakshu gave a small smile and left me, which was all I can usually get from these kids, are small smiles, and the occasional half laugh. I was happy with it, though. I picked up my helmet and looked at it. The same helmet I wore when Order 66 was given. The same armor that I was now putting on. The same guns. My body ached from laying on the ground, but I preferred to let the kids have the hammocks that we made, at least until we get more rope or vines to make some. Then, maybe I'd be in a better state, but I'm half afraid that the damage has been done, considering I don't remember waking up without an aching body anymore. "Come on, Jayin. You wanna get out of camp? Let's go." Jayin ran up, joining me at my side, his spear in hand. "We going to hunt while we're out, Smash?" "Sure, may as well. Not like we have much else to do." He nodded and stared ahead, his green eyes going distant again. It was pretty often that that happened, and when it did, I assumed he was thinking of what had happened when the Republic started collapsing. It happened fast, and his parents were caught in the middle, as their planet rebelled against the new rule of the rising Empire. He had watched as his parents were killed, helpless to do anything else. Now all he wanted to do was either keep moving, or be left alone. I could understand him, though. I would probably be the same, if the circumstances were different. "What are you thinking about?" I blinked in surprise. "The war. The beginning of it." Jayin snorted. "You mean the Clone Wars, or the Jedi Purge?" I looked at him. "The Purge. I wasn't created at the beginning of the Clone Wars. I was one of the last Clone Troopers before Order 66 was given." "Order 66?" Too much said. I pressed my lips together, thinking of how to get out of this. "What do you plan on hunting?" "Anything I come across that's edible, now you're not changing the subject. What do you mean, Order 66?" I kept walking in silence, trying to decide what I should tell him. I knew that it's likely I'm going to lose his trust with this information, at least a little bit. After all, it _was_ my brothers that killed his parents. I opened my mouth, but stopped suddenly, holding my arm out to stop Jayin, too. I crouched, down motioning him down, and made a signal for him to be quiet. I heard it again, the slight _crunch_ of footsteps, slow and steady. "We're being approached," I whispered. "They know we're here." Jayin went pale. "What do we do?" I shook my head. "Quietly, turn and go southeast, don't go too close to camp. We don't want to lead them there. I'll hold them off." "But it's just you! You can't hold off who knows how many people!" "Jayin, I'm _ordering_ you to leave, I can't have you-" "You may as well stand up. I know exactly where you are." I was shocked to hear a girl's voice. I looked at Jayin and stood slowly, pistols at the ready to shoot. She stood with her hand propped on her hip, and another girl stood behind her, looking fairly uncertain. They were twins, looking almost exactly the same, except for the one in the front had some markings placed on her face with what I assumed was mud. My eyes slid to the Jedi patch on her arm, then down to her belt, where a lightsaber hung. "What the-" "Hello to you, too." I shook my head. "I thought all the Jedi were dead." Her face turned sour. "They are, that I know of." "Then why do you wear a Jedi symbol and have a lightsaber?" "None of your business. What's your names?" Jayin stepped forward. "You first." She smirked. "You're the bold one. I've seen you before. I'm Nisha, and this is my sister, Nitya." "I'm Smasher, this is Jayin. How did you know about Jayin?" Nisha snorted. "I've been following you guys and watching you for a week and a half, now. Didn't know whether to trust you, or not, so we watched you to find out." Jayin raised an eyebrow at me. "I don't know what's more disturbing, that they found us, or that they stalked us." I suppressed a laugh and cleared my throat. "So, how did you find us, exactly?" "We've been wandering around, came across your tracks. One day we followed them, and saw the little squirmy one." Jayin laughed. "Which one?" I elbowed Jayin in the ribs and said "well, I guess you're wanting to join?" Nisha stepped forward. "Only if you do something and answer a question." "Okay," I said carefully. "Go ahead, then." "Take off your helmet and look me in the eye." I hesitantly took off my helmet, tucking it under my arm, then met her stare with an even one of my own. She cocked her head to the side slightly. "Why did you disobey the Order?" My eyes widened and I took a step back unconsciously. "You _are_ a Jedi, aren't you?" "No." "Why do you think I disobeyed the Order?" "I just know. Now why?" I turned away and looked over my shoulder at Jayin. "We need to finish the patrol. Let's go." I walked off without waiting to see if he followed. My past wasn't something I wanted to talk about. Especially with a girl that carried the lightsaber and symbol of a Jedi.

"What was that all about?" Jayin asked, panting with the effort of trying to keep up. I stayed silent, grateful for the helmet that shielded my face from his prying eyes. "Hey, I asked you a question!" I kept going, acting like I didn't hear. Then he took it too far. He knocked on my helmet. "Hey, anybody in there? I asked a question, and I want an answer." I stopped and turned to face him. "Stop." "Well if you would have answered, instead of playing deaf!" "I have given you the respect of not prying about your past. Give me the courtesy of doing the same. I don't want to talk about it." Jayin looked surprised. "Okay. I'm sorry, then." I nodded at him and then continued on our way. I knew I was being a little tough on him, but I didn't need him, or anybody else judging me because of my past. I already do that myself.

By the time we got back to camp, it was sunset, and both Jayin and I were tired. We had taken the second and third patrol without coming back, and had hardly noticed. I was surprised when I heard laughter and saw Nisha, Nitya, Chakshu, Charin, and Daksh sitting around the fire. I hauled our dinner meat over to the fire, dropped it, and silently got the skewer ready. I stabbed the creatures, already cleaned and ready to cook, and set them over the fire. "Hey, Smash," Daksh said. "Hey kid. I see you have new friends." "Yeah! They lived on this planet before the Jedi Purge started! They said that they had a farm and animals, and got to have training, too!" I looked over my shoulder at Nisha, who sat silently watching me. I didn't trust her, and I could tell she didn't trust me. "That should be done in twenty or thirty minutes," I said before walking away. I sat in my tent cleaning my pistols. It was something I knew I could do without error. Something I had learned early, and always did. I had already given my armor a quick wipe, and I was happy with that, considering that I wasn't proud of it anymore. That time had long passed. The time that I had been proud of being a clone. I pulled out the ragged journal I had been keeping since I left Kashyk, and started writing.

Memories. Sometimes, I wish they didn't exist. They remind you of what you've done, of what your brothers have done, and what you didn't do. They do exist, though, and a girl came around today with her twin sister. Somehow, she knows about Order 66 and what it is. About the fact that I didn't obey Order 66 when it was given to me. The question is, how much does she know? More importantly, who is she? I have my suspicions that she was a relative of a Jedi, maybe even one that I had been around when they killed him or her. I regret what happened. Every second of every day, even though I can't fix what happened. The Jedi trusted us, led us into battle, and most tried to keep as many of us alive as possible. I didn't know one myself, but a close brother of mine did. One that was executed for _not_ killing a Jedi.

Memories surfaced in my mind, of a brother who was just that to me. Who died by another brother's hand when he disobeyed Order 66.

_"Hey! Rookie! Get up, we've got work to do, remember?" I groaned and rolled over, off the cot that I slept on the night before. "Yeah, yeah. I'm going, Sharp." Sharp scoffed. "I'll believe that when you're actually out of bed." I sat up and pulled my armor on. "Happy?" Sharp chuckled. "Very. Now I don't have to do some body pulling by myself." I sighed. "This must be the worst job possible." He grunted. "I may have to agree with you. There's nothing worse than pulling a brother's body onto a pile of them and burning them." "Yeah. The smell of burning flesh is worse when you know it's a brother's body burning. Especially when it's a whole pile of them burning." Sharp nodded in response and pulled on his helmet grimly before grabbing the first body and dragging it over to the designated burning area. I followed suit, all the while thinking that it couldn't possibly get worse. Then it did. I waited for Sharp to pull the body from the top of a pile of them. It was a massacre, I could tell. My heart seemed to stop when I saw it. A Jedi body. "Sharp." "I see him. We'll burn him separately. He at least deserves that." I helped him carry the Jedi over next to the pile of already burning clones and arranged him to look at rest. Sharp set fire to his body and we both stood, watching. "Do you know why we're doing this to them?" "No, Smasher. I don't. I wish it didn't have to be this way, though. I may be only a little bit older than you, but I served with a Jedi once. They're the best people to be led into battle by, and they are caring and compassionate, even though we're just clones. Able to be replaced by another brother. I don't know why we're killing them, but I hope at least some survive, and can stop this." I nodded. "What if you were given the Order?" "I wouldn't do it. I'd miss, and hope the Jedi got away." I looked down at my feet, wondering what I would do if I had the Order._

_"Sharp. You have been given Order 66. Your target is Quinlan Voss. He's going to be passing through this zone, and you are expected to follow through. Failure to do so will be treated as treason and you will be executed immediately." I watched in horror as Sharp stood at attention, being given the orders we both had hoped to never get. After he was dismissed, he came over to me. "I just wanted to say my good-byes, Smash." "No, don't say that. You can get away. Now, before you have to sit at that turret!" He shook his head. "There's no chance, rookie. I have to so this. I'm not going to kill him, though. Remember what I told you about it before. Shoot to miss." I looked down, and Sharp laid a hand on my shoulder. "There is a sort of honor in this, Smash. I hope you can remember this and see to it that more Jedi survive." I nodded. "I'll do the best that I can, Sharp." He nodded once. "I know you will." He turned and took his place in the turret, loaded it, and readied to shoot where we expected General Voss to come from. I stood rooted to the spot, unable to walk away. From my brother. From what was sure to be my fate one day. Ordered to kill Jedi._

_It wasn't long before I heard a speeder approaching, and I tried to brace myself for what I was about to see. General Voss sped into sight, ducked down low on his speeder and intent on a path. Sharp corrected and fired once. Twice. Three times. Voss emerged from the dust only to turn back, giving a two fingered salute when Sharp didn't fire again. Sharp returned the salute, as clones emerged, beginning to surround him. Our commander stood in front of Sharp. "I thought I gave you specific orders. I told you what would happen if you disobeyed." Sharp held his head high. "I know." The commander shook his head. "Take him out where the Jedi was. We'll execute him there." I followed slowly as Sharp was pushed and shoved toward where he fired at General Voss, and was pushed down to his knees. They removed his helmet and his armor, and looking at us, on his knees, Sharp looked no less a fighter than the Jedi he warned off. "Any last words?" Sharp looked up defiantly. "Yeah. Long live the Jedi. And may they take down this corrupt troop, army, and government." Sharp looked straight at me, and I was the last thing he saw before he was shot. Killed by his own brothers. I watched him fall, his eyes still on me. "Burn him where he lays," our commander ordered, turning to me. I nodded and poured lighter fluid around his body as the commander walked off. I looked over my shoulder to make sure nobody was watching, and arranged his body the same way we had arranged the Jedi's body. "Rest easy, brother." I stood and started the fire, then watched my brother burn._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Smash?" I looked over my shoulder and stopped. Daksh ran to catch up to me, pushing past the bushes that concealed our camp. "You don't like Nisha." Through it all, the kid is still bluntly honest to what he thinks. "I just don't trust her yet. You have fun though, kid. Your time to grow up hasn't quite come yet." Daksh gave me a small smile and then ran back to camp. I turned and continued on my path away from the camp. "Hey, wait up." I sighed. "I'm never going to get away from camp." Nisha took a place beside me and I set a brisk pace. "Is there a rush?" I shook my head. "No, just on patrol." She shrugged. "Okay, then." Nisha was silent for a few minutes before she spoke again. "There's Stormtroopers closing in on the south, you know." I nodded once. "I know. We'll stay ahead of them." She looked at me. "You can't just keep running." I cast a sideways glance at her. "Oh? And what do you suppose we do instead?" "Go north." I stopped. "That's crazy!" She turned and set a hand on her hip. "Is it? The Stormtroopers already passed through there, cleaned out the threats, took what they wanted, and left. They're not likely to come back very often." I thought about it for a moment. "Yes," I allowed. "That's true, but there's the fact that we would have to get past the Stormtroopers already heading this way. They work systematically, combing every square inch of ground to follow orders, and trust me, there's going to be plenty." She nodded and we started walking again. "What if we can find a way around that? We can try to sneak past them." I shook my head. "It's not going to be easy. Most of them are probably going to be scouts, and they're hard to spot, and hard to get past. There's not much you can do from a ground standpoint." Nisha pointed up. "What about the trees?" "You may have a better chance, but I think I'm happy with keeping on the move, right now." She shook her head. "You're way too stubborn for your own good." "I just know the way the war works, kid." She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "If I'm not mistaken, you look like you're around the same age as me. So why do you call us all 'kid'?" I watched her. "It doesn't seem like I'm your age. More like twenty years older." "I guess that would make sense," she conceded. "But there's not really a reason to let go of your own 'childhood', as you called it earlier." "I never really had one. I joked around with my squadmates, and had playful spats, but that was it. No play time. We were raised soldiers, stuck in a growth acceleration tank, and handed guns. There was no thinking of what real children got. We didn't even know." Nisha looked down. "That's so sad. I mean, I knew you guys were created for the war, but I never really though about it." I let out a sigh. "No one really does."

The rest of the patrol had gone by in silence, as I thought about my past, and I went straight to my tent when I got back to camp. "Hey, Smash, can I come in?" Chakshu stood at the entrance of my tent, waiting to be accepted or turned away. I took off my helmet. "Yeah, come on in." Chakshu ducked in and gave a friendly smile, but his eyes told me that he was concerned. "What's wrong, kid?" He looked down. "I'm just concerned. About you." I raised an eyebrow, but I thought _here we go_. "Yeah?" He nodded. "Ever since you came back yesterday, and Nisha and Nitya were here, you've seemed distanced." _Perceptive little guy_, I thought. "Well, we just haven't had any girls around here, and they're new." "You didn't have a problem with Daksh. Or Jayin," he pointed out. I shrugged. "We found them. Nisha and Nitya found us. This is a little hard to accept." Chakshu didn't look convinced. I sighed. "Look, I have some things on my mind right now. That's all, okay? You can go talk to Nisha and Nitya all you want, but be careful." He nodded. "Alright, Smasher." Chakshu turned to leave, but looked back over his shoulder. "Remember that we're here for you, too. Just like you've been here for us." With that, he left. I watched the place he had deserted, wondering how I could think that I'm the only one that can see my own problems.

"Come and get it! Jayin caught lunch!" I came out of my tent to see Charin grinning from ear to ear holding a skewered and charred apple slug in the air. I groaned. "Charin, I hope you let somebody else cook that." His grin widened. "Nope, and this one can be for you." Nisha shoved Charin playfully. "Yeah right. _I_ made that. And everyone else's beast for that matter." Chakshu laughed. "It would be a lot worse if Charin had cooked. There would probably even be a torch where the apple slug is supposed to be." Charin rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny, Chak." He shrugged. "I thought it was." "Alright, all of you," I said. "Let's just eat, unless you'd like to argue all afternoon." They didn't need to be told twice. Everybody found a place on the logs we had set up and sat down. I cut up the three apple slugs and split them evenly between them all. "Hey Smash?" I looked up from where I was sitting, my food untouched still. "Yeah, Chak?" "Tell us one of your war stories?" I looked down again, this time with a touch of a smile. I knew the perfect one that they hadn't heard yet. "Alright, then." I set my makeshift plate aside and stared into the fire, like it was a hologram with my memories there. "It was a month after the Jedi Purge started and we were stationed on Ansion. We were trying to capture the planet. My brother, Sharp, and I were placed at camp, replacing and fixing jammed weapons-" "Like your pistols?" I looked at Daksh. "Yeah. Like them. We'd fix them and run the new ones out to the men fighting. We weren't very happy being put on runner duty. It was a common task for us, despite the fact that we both were trained for the front lines. Sharps' training was close to elite, but our commanders thought it was best to put him back with me." I snorted. "They probably thought it would keep me out of trouble. It did just the opposite. I had just fixed a pair of pistols- the very ones I carry today- when I got the idea."

_ "Hey, Sharp." I threw down the tools and wiped my forehead. "Why are we doing this, when we were trained to be on the front lines, saving our brothers?" Sharp laughed. "Because we were placed here." We got a sideways glance from a couple of our brothers fixing weapons. I lowered my voice. "Yeah, but we belong up front with our brothers. Not doing this!" Sharp thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. I'm not so sure I'm liking this duty. But what are you going to do? Go to Commander Linch and say 'Hey, I don't like being on weapon maintenance. Can you place me on the front lines?' Good luck with that." I shook my head. "No. Why bother asking? They'd just say no, anyways. Let's just go, take things into our own hands. I'm sure we'd do fine. We don't need the commander holding our hands for us to get a good plan going." "You're crazy, Smash... Do you have something planned?" I grinned. "Of course!"_

_ We ran down the outskirts of the battle, where the natives had their tanks, crouching low as we went, and then stopped beside one, far enough away to go undetected. I looked over at Sharp and smirked, despite my helmet. "I told you they wouldn't notice us. Now time to set the real plan in motion." I activated a grenade and threw it. The grenade landed right at the foot of the tank, and then blew up. "Gotcha," I hissed, reveling in how well the plan went. Sharp nodded. "How about I take the other side so this can go faster?" It wasn't really a question, though. Sharp had more experience and he knew more of what he was doing than I did. He turned and hurried to the other flank while I continued along. I had two more down when Sharp's first grenade went off. It wasn't long before the next one was going off. I grinned. "Turning this into a competition, Sharp," I asked over the comlink. "You betcha," He replied. I chuckled and threw the next one. I hurried along before the grenade could blow and had already thrown another right after the blast. We went on like that, one after another. Until I stumbled across a native keeping watch over a tank. I cursed and crept closer, keeping down low in the grass until, with a good roll, I was able to get it next to the tank. The native glanced down, and his eyes widened right before the blast went off. I grimaced, but went back to work, and it wasn't long before all the tanks were down, and the natives were calling a retreat. Our brothers caught up to us, pushing the natives back, but when the commander laid eyes on Sharp and I regrouping, he wasn't happy. "I thought I had you boys on weapon maintenance." We both stood at attention. "Yes, sir," I began. He held up a hand. "You left your post, stole explosives, disobeyed orders, and broke off from the group. Do you know what I could do to you boys?" We both looked at each other. We knew. "But," The commander started again. "You also took down the enemy tanks undetected, and allowed us to push them into a full retreat." He laid his hands on our shoulders. "Bravo, boys. You had a lot of guts going out there like that. And while I don't appreciate you leaving your posts and disobeying me, I do appreciate your work today." He turned to walk away, but stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Just don't let me catch you disobeying me again. Next time, come talk to me before you get yourselves killed." With that, he walked away, leaving us with as high of praise as we were going to get out of our commander. Sharp and I took off our helmets to grin at each other. "I think those were compliments," I stated. Sharp snorted. "He didn't call us stupid, so I guess that was the most praise anybody has gotten." We clasped each others arms. "We make a good team, brother," Sharp said. "I'd be glad to disobey orders with you any time."_

Even now I suppressed leftover laughter, but with it came a deep sadness from losing my brother. I stared into the fire still and then blinked slowly. "You were close with Sharp, weren't you?" I looked over to Nitya, who sat silently fascinated. I nodded. "Yeah. We were true brothers." I looked down at my arms resting on my knees. "We became as inseparable as soldiers could be." There was a moment of silence before Nisha broke it. "What happened to him?" I gave a quite scoff, void of emotion. I stood and turned to walk away. "He died." It was all I would say to her. I went to my tent and pulled the fabric door closed, leaving myself in the dark.

I woke up before the sun rose, memories plaguing my mind worse than usual. Ever since Nisha came with her sister, my memories have come back stronger than ever. Memories that I could usually push down. Things I'd rather not remember. I stretched and put my armor on and headed out of camp. Dirt crunching softly beneath my feet was the only sound that was made until a night creature howled. Then all was silent again. This was the time I liked the most, when the night creatures were getting ready to sleep, and the day creatures were still sleeping, soon to be woken by the sun. Right now, though, the silence was like static in my ear, the explosion in my dream still haunting me. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and stopped to listen. I felt like I was being watched and was just starting to turn around when a voice stopped me. "Awake so early?" I cursed and released my grip on my pistols. "I nearly shot you," I hissed between my teeth before turning and walking again. Nisha took a place on my left and walked in silence. "Why are you up?" I was irritated with her, since I had come out here to be alone, and because she had been able to sneak up on me so easily. "I heard you moving and then leaving, so I decided to see what you were up to." I snorted. "Yeah? How did that work out? You got caught." Nisha smirked. "I meant to. You were walking too slow for my taste." I shook my head. "Go ahead and run, then. I don't care. If you get lost, though, don't expect me to coddle your sister" Nisha outright laughed. "You? Coddle anybody? Yeah, right. Besides, I'd never get lost." I scowled. "You act like you know so much about me." She raised an eyebrow. "Is there very much to know? I mean, you're a clone. Just like all the others. That's all you are. You follow orders- for the most part- and go on living." I stopped and turned to face her, fists clenched. I took off my helmet and glared at her, looking her in the eye. "No. We are not _just clones._ Not all of us follow orders. We have emotions. We have our own thoughts. We may not have parents like you, but just because I'm a clone, doesn't mean I'm any less than you. Get that through your head." She searched my face. "What made you disobey?" I pointed a finger at her. "That is absolutely none of you business. And you have no right to judge me by what you think of some other clones." Nisha put a hand on her hip. "You really don't trust me, do you?" "No. I don't. Just like you don't trust me." I turned and walked away, fitting my helmet back over my head as I went. I was even more stressed than I had been before I left the camp, now. I listened carefully, hoping that she didn't follow me and cause more problems. A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed what I didn't hear. There was nobody there. Relief spread through me, and I knew that I'd be able to calm down at least a little bit before I had to turn back to camp.

The others stared at me as I walked through camp, and I was surprised when Jayin gave me a dark look and turned away. I was confused, especially when I saw that Nisha and her sister were still here. Then I saw the hint of guilt on Nitya's face and then the apologetic look she sent my way. I stalked up to her. "What did you do?" She stared right into the face of my helmet, but didn't say a thing. I let out a frustrated breath. "Nisha, you'd better speak now, or so help me, I will-" "You'll what?" I turned to face Jayin, who was leaning against a tree, arms folded. "You'll do to her what you clones were ordered to do to the Jedi? Take part in the Purge, too? Or have you already killed a Jedi?" I shook my head, while emotions turned inside me. "Jayin, you don't know what you're talking about. _I_-" "I'm talking about Order 66, Smasher. You know, the order to execute the Jedi?" I took off my helmet and dropped it, spinning to face Nisha. "You had _no right_ to tell them about this!" She lifted her chin. "I had every right." I pointed behind me at the others. "They're _just kids_!" She stood up straight, face to face with me. "Technically, so are you." "_I_ was _trained_ to deal with different situations! These kids don't have the training for this, and just because you think your slight training will help you, doesn't mean that it will! I didn't tell them because I didn't want them to act on this!" "So you kept this a secret?" Jayin's voice rose with every word. "You kept this a secret, that _your brothers_, the ones you've told us stories about, the ones that we admired, killed the Jedi? Killed civilians, and killed my parents?" "Jayin-" Jayin shook his head. "No, Smasher. Just leave. We can't trust you. Not anymore." I took a step back, shocked and hurt, and I looked around. Nobody would meet my eyes. I walked over to my tent, packed my things, took the tent down, and turned to face them again. Jayin shook his head and walked away. "Leave, Smasher, before I change my mind." I walked over to where my helmet was and picked it up. I stared at the front for a moment. "You know, I had thought about this for a long time, how it would go if I told you. I never thought, though, that the kids I had taken in, would make me leave." "We're not the kids we used to be," Jayin said. I slipped on my helmet and left without a glance back.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I stared at the fire, my mind silent for once. I was shocked, though, and I felt lost again. With Jayin and the others, I had a purpose, a reason to live, and someone to care if I was gone. Now, there was nobody. I was just another clone again. A faceless creature, and now, an enemy of the galaxy. The only people I had hope of understanding turned away and pushed me out. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. It was getting long again, but this time I didn't care. A twig snapped in the distance, and I heard voices. Voices like mine. I quickly extinguished the fire and slung my packs over my shoulder. I worked my way quietly away from the troopers, and toward the camp that held the people I cared most for.

I yanked up the supports to Jayin and Chakshu's tent, then moved onto the next. Everybody gave an indignant yelp, and one by one, they came out to glare at me. "I thought I told you to leave. Did you not think I was serious?" I looked around, ignoring Jayin. "Look, Stormtroopers are close, a klick, maybe two if we're lucky. We've got to leave _now_. Pack your things, we have to find somewhere to go, try to get ahead of them, or find somewhere to hide. I don't know yet." To my surprise, Nisha was the first one to move and start packing her things and rolling up her tent. After that, everybody was moving, and it wasn't long before they were packed and ready to leave. I nodded. "Let's go. Quietly." I took the lead, placing my feet carefully, and glancing behind me to make sure everybody was keeping up the pace. "Do you guys think you can handle a little faster?" The all gave me a determined nod, but I was concerned for Nitya, who seemed to be less than confident with her steps. _As long as we don't all make too much noise,_ I thought. We kept up the pace, until and hour later, Nitya was making too much noise and was stumbling. I set Jayin in the lead and doubled back. "Are you okay," I murmured. She shook her head, drawing in a sharp breath as she took another step. "I twisted my ankle a klick back. It hurts _so_ bad." I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her and asked "which one?" "My left one. I- I don't know what happened, I guess I just miscalculated where I was putting my foot." I took her ankle carefully and examined it the best that I could. "I guess it was that hole that we went over, then?" She nodded, biting her lip. I set her foot down carefully. "It doesn't look like it's broken, but it's swollen up pretty bad." I slung her arm over my shoulders. "You'd better keep your weight off of it as much as possible. It'll heal faster that way." Nitya nodded, and we continued on in silence. I took most of her weight for her, so she was stepping lighter than before, and I had to be more careful. Despite that, my training helped me be able to keep up the pace, and we were able to be close enough to the others that they could hear us, and we could hear if a halt was called. "I'm sorry that my sister told the others," Nitya whispered. I was silent for a moment before replying. "It's not your fault, what she says." I thought about my next words for a moment. "You and your sister... You're both a Jedi's daughters, aren't you?" Nitya looked up sharply, then looked defeated. "Yeah. His name is Ansula Himanshu. Or was, I don't know if he's alive or dead. Our mother is dead, though. Our father used to teach us, Nisha was always the one who loved the physical training, but I was always the best at the history, and education. Her and I are pretty different for twins, but we've been almost inseparable since we were born." I had stiffened at the name, and I hoped that Nitya hadn't noticed. The last thing I needed was another enemy. Especially when she was offering peace between us. "He sounds like a good man," I said. Nitya nodded. "He is. He's the best father any daughter could have. He cared for us, and taught us, pushed us to be the best, and then pushed us farther. I'm educated as high as a Jedi would get, and even trained in politics, too. Nisha would probably be a Jedi Knight, if not a Master, if they saw her skills already." Nitya looked down. "Our father got each of us special things for us, for our specialties. Nisha's tunic? The one with the Jedi patch on it? It was created specially for her, the fabric breathable and flexible, able to adapt to our kind. Her Jedi symbol was an even more special touch for it. Our father thought she would like it, and had some more tunics made when she never wore anything but that tunic. He also brought her a lightsaber, and took her to find her own crystal, like a Jedi would. I have my own, too, but I've never been very interested in the fighting." I watched her, intrigued with this information. "I didn't even know that there were Jedi who would disobey their code and marry, let alone have children." Nitya smiled sadly. "My father never fully agreed with this particular rule. He thought it foolish, considering that sometimes, the Force is passed down from parent to child, thus creating another generation of Jedi." I nodded, understanding. "I guess that does make sense. It would allow for more padawans, and thus more Jedi." She nodded. "Yeah. Except I didn't receive the Force. Only my sister." I gauged her reaction, but she didn't seem resentful or jealous. "You aren't upset about that?" She shrugged. "You don't need Force powers to be a politician or a scholar. Just the right education and a sense for the line of work." I grunted in agreement. "Besides," she murmured. "My sister has a knack for getting into trouble, and I'd rather her have the Force to get her out of trouble, than me, who would hardly even use it." "Maybe not all the children would end up with the Force, then. Maybe it'll be only one kid, like with you and Nisha. Or maybe it's just the twins that have this happen." Nitya shrugged. "I have no clue what it is. It's hard to tell." We walked in silence, until Jayin called a halt, and we set up a single tent. Nisha gave me a dark look, then saw her sister. Her face softened and she came over, taking her sister's hand. "What happened?" Nitya shrugged. "I wasn't paying attention, and I twisted my ankle." I guided Nitya to sit down and took off her shoe. "What are you doing?" Nisha demanded. I looked up at her with an eyebrow raised. "I'm checking out what I can do for her. I had a friend that taught me the basics of field injuries." She clenched her jaw and walked away, leaving me to work quietly, pulling out a paste that I had made earlier on in the month, and smearing it around her ankle. "This will help the swelling to go down." I tore apart one of my shirts, and began wrapping her ankle. "How did you learn about the plants? How to make the pastes out of them?" I gave her a wry smile. "Days and days of finding plants and smearing them on my arms and legs. Little patches here, little patches there. You wouldn't believe how many plants will make you itch, and how many burn like fire." Nitya tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, but it came out anyways. "I'm- sorry-" she said between hysterical giggles. "That's- just too- _funny!_" I smiled. "Not for me, it wasn't. Eventually, I found out which ones helped, and which ones didn't. Turns out, there's some that stop the itching, and some that just make it worse." Nitya wiped away a tear, her laughter dying out. "You know, you _could _have just asked a villager. They're usually very helpful when you say that you want to learn about healing herbs." I grunted. "That would have been nice to know earlier." I tied off the wrap and sat back. "Well, you're good to go. Like I said, you shouldn't put too much weight on your foot." Nitya nodded, and, to my surprise, leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Thank you." She stood and I stood too, helping her over to a place beside the small fire. I was sure my face was burning red, and I was glad I hadn't taken off my helmet yet. Nisha shot daggers at her sister, then my way. I shrugged. I helped Nitya out of kindness, I knew. Not hoping that I could get the girls to warm up to me. I wasn't going to punish Nitya for what her sister had done. And in helping Nitya, I had found out that she was a kind, soft girl. Not a rough, aggressive girl like her sister, as I had assumed. They were _very_ different, and I wouldn't forget that.

Nitya laid a hand on my arm, waking me. I stood quickly and looked around, one hand on my pistol, the other pushing Nitya behind me. Nitya laughed softly and came in front of me. I slowly released my grip on my pistol, seeing that there was no danger. "I came to wake you. Your shift of watching ended long ago. Chakshu's been watching since you fell asleep." I took off my helmet and rubbed my face. "I didn't mean to fall asleep- I just" "You're exhausted. Like the rest of us. We understand. Why don't you come over and eat some apple slug, yeah?" I chuckled. Apple slug, brought over to this planet and overpopulated, was now the easiest edible creatures to find. I nodded and looked at her carefully. "I notice something missing," I sighed. Nitya's cheeks went red. "I didn't want to bother anybody. If it makes you feel better, I practically hopped over here on my good foot." I shook my head, chuckling under my breath. I took her left arm and slung it over my shoulder, guiding her over to where everybody was now eating. I waited until everybody was served to eat the little that was left, figuring that they needed it more than I did. Nisha glared at me as she ate, occasionally turning her glare over to her sister. "I think she's upset that you're helping me," Nitya whispered. "And that I'm accepting your help." I nodded. "Probably. I could care less, right now though. What we all need right now is to work together, help each other. Not be letting each other fend for ourselves. That will only get us killed." Nitya nodded in agreement. "I wish she would get along with you better. She just causes trouble with you, and it doesn't help anything." I felt a slight stab of guilt for helping push her to be aggressive toward me, provoking her whenever she talked to me. _Then again, she provokes me all the same._ I sighed and rested my head in my hands, listening to the last clatter of dishes die down. "We need a game plan," I said finally. I didn't look up, but I could feel everybody turning their eyes on me. "Well?" Jayin asked irritably. "What do you suppose we do?" Anger flared inside of me, propelling me to my feet, as my hands clenched at my sides. "Why don't you ask your _new leader_? Obviously, I'm not part of this group that I started, anymore, and after I get you through this, I'm just going to be pushed out again. So, why don't you come up with a full on game plan by yourselves? Let me know so _the clone_ can get you through. Then you can throw him away again." I turned and left them gaping at me. Even Nisha looked thoroughly shocked. I headed back the way we came, back toward our old camp. I intended to find out exactly how close these Stormtroopers were. Maybe it would help keep us distanced from them if we knew how many there were. At least how fast they were traveling. It was likely that there were tanks or something similar with them. I refused to sit around while they figure out how to get out of this mess. They needed to become independent, anyways. Since I wasn't going to be able to take care of them like I'd thought. Now, I was just a soldier again. Nothing more to them, if anything, less.

I walked for 20 klicks before I found them. Too close for my liking. There were scouts in the front, reporting back every two minutes, on the dot. I crept around them, careful to stay silent and out of sight. Then the real recon began. There were at least a hundred Troopers, and several tanks. The commander was in the front, scanning the area. They were traveling fast, for a group this big, and I stopped to wonder how they were able to keep this pace. I closed my eyes for a moment, before making my way back to our new camp. Once out of hearing range of the scouts, I took off at a run, hoping to reach the others before the Stormtroopers got any closer.

Everybody looked strained when I got there, and Nisha was pacing. They all jumped when I came back. "Get packed. We leave now." I pulled up the stakes to the tent and rolled it quickly. I tied it and attached it to my pack, pulling it on quickly. "The plan-" I waved Jayin off. "Kid, right now, the blasted plan means nothing. We have _got to move_. They're too close for my liking, and if we're going to have a chance of not getting caught, we _need _to leave." Nisha gestured to Nitya. "What about her? She can hardly walk! Let alone run!" I cursed and set my pack down. I looked around at everybody, all of them holding their packs. I made a quick decision, shoving my pack at Jayin. "Carry this. Anything goes missing, I'm taking it out on _you_. I don't have much, kid." Jayin nodded determinedly and shrugged my pack on. I handed Nitya's pack to Nisha. "You carry that." "What-" I cut off Nitya by picking her up, setting her straddling my back in a back carry. "Just don't choke, me, okay? You won't have a ride, then." I turned to look at the others. "Let's go." I held onto Nitya tight, and started at a jog, slowly picking up the pace and letting her adjust. Nitya was careful to keep from wrapping her arms too tight, keeping them wrapped around my chest. "How far are we going to go?" She asked. I shook my head. "I dunno. Until we're tired, that's all I can figure. I don't know how far the Troopers can go today, so we just have to guess that we put enough distance between us and them by the time we're tired." "I hope this will end," Nitya whispered, so quiet that I hardly heard her. I sighed. "Me too."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I was lost in my thoughts when someone called my name, struggling to catch up to me. I looked down at Charin, sweating, and his eyes weary. "Smash, we need to stop. We're all worn down, even Nisha." I looked behind me. The girl _did_ look tired, which was surprising, considering that she had more stamina than I had initially thought. I sighed and slowed my pace to a walk, and then stopped. "We can set up camp," I announced. Nitya, whose head was resting on my shoulder, woke, groaning. "Are we stopping?" "Yeah. We're setting up camp and getting some sleep." The sun had set three hours ago, but it was still bright, the moon providing enough light for us. She leaned her head against my helmet, sighing. I set her down carefully and turned to the others. "It's your choice whether you want to set up a tent or roll out your beds. Either way, I'll take first watch." I turned and walked away, to a tree lying on its side. I faced the group for a little bit, watching them discuss something, then Nisha helping Nitya roll out her bed, and then lay her own next to her sisters. I turned to face the woods, closing my eyes and listening to the soft sounds of the night animals. "My sister's grateful that you carried her. She wouldn't have made it otherwise." I opened my eyes, but stared straight ahead. "I'm a soldier. My duty is to help the civilians." I let bitterness creep into my voice next. "It's what I was created for. To serve." I heard Nisha sigh softly. "We're going to go through with my idea. To sneak past the Stormtroopers and get back to the north, instead of continuing on the run and risking getting cornered and caught." I grunted, but didn't say anything. "Aren't you going to spell out what a bad idea it is, and how risky it is?" I shook my head. "Like I said, I'm only a soldier. I take orders and follow them." Anger crept into her voice. "Well do you at least have any useful ideas to help keep us alive?" I looked over at her and watched her carefully for a moment. Her almond-shaped blue eyes were blazing with determination and anger, and the corners of her mouth were turned down in a frown. The light caught her cheekbones in the right places that she looked older than she was. Like a commander. I sighed. "It's going to be risky like this, but I had an idea earlier, when I was scouting them. If we spread out-" "No. Absolutely not. This is a-" I slammed my fist down on the log, cutting her off with the shock. I took off my helmet. "Look, you asked for an idea. Don't cut me off when I'm giving you what you asked for." She nodded, frowning again. "If we spread out, we have a better chance of slipping through undetected. They're spread out too, and they have people going back and forth, changing places. It's a strong tactic, but also weak. If we go through a place where we find weak, each of us, a different place, we're less likely to get caught. Go through all together in the same place, and we're likely to alert them that we're going through, and we're all dead." Nisha thought about it for a moment. "I hate to admit it, but it does make sense. How would we know where to meet up, though?" I thought for a moment. "We're far enough away from camp that they will be, too. We can meet up at our old camp, then we can leave for the north. We should only wait for three days, though, otherwise we risk getting caught. The first person to show up times it like that." Nisha nodded. "I guess we'll follow your tactic, then. You want to announce it?" I shook my head, replacing my helmet. "No. You're obviously the ring leader to them. I've got nothing to do with this group besides playing soldier, anymore. That's it." I heard Nisha's soft steps walking away, and I stared out at the woods again.

I sat crouched at the middle section of Stormtroopers headed my way, waiting for the right moment to sneak through. This was going to be the toughest spot to get through, but the others would have an easier time. Nitya was placed at one of the thinnest ends, while Nisha was placed at the others, letting them have the easy time. Hopefully. I spotted a mistake in their line, a spot left unguarded when the runner went one way or another. I waited until the runner was gone, and they were practically on top of me. I slipped through the bushes, the mud on my armor helping to keep me concealed. I kept down low and quiet, long after I had passed them, and they had passed me. _That was easier than I'd imagined,_ I thought. _Hopefully, the others had it that easy, and we'll all meet at the rendezvous. _I grimaced at the thought of never seeing any one of them again, but quickly shook the thought away. _We're all going to be okay, _I thought. _I'm going to see every one of them soon. _I closed my eyes and when I opened them I set off at a dead run, memories making their way through my mind as I ran.

_"Get out of there! She's gonna blow!" I ran away from a tank, a grenade set to explode any second now, while my brothers shouted desperately at me. We had lost so many, already. I ran as fast as I could, then my brother beside me fell. I stopped and turned around, lifting him to his feet. "Go," He choked. "We'll both end up dying if you stay." I shook my head. "I'm not leaving you here. We were both in that tank. If you don't make it, I won't either." He nodded determinedly, and we made our way faster. The tank blew up behind us, and we both got knocked forward from the shock. I covered my brother's body with my own and shut my eyes, gritting my teeth from the pain of the heat. "Trap?" I asked, once the worst was over. He grunted, then groaned. "Can't breathe- you're crushing me." I stood up and held out a hand for him. He took it, and I hauled him to his feet, biting back the pain. We looked behind us at the tank. The one that we had been in just less than a minute before. "We could have died in that thing," Trap said. I nodded, watching the flames eat up what was left of the tank. A couple of our brothers arrived on a speeder. "Are you alright?" They dismounted and rushed to our sides. "Yeah," I replied. "I'm fine. Take care of Trap first." Trap climbed on behind one of the troopers, while the other offered his hand from atop his speeder. I took it gratefully, wincing as the speeder jerked into motion. The medic was waiting for us as we arrived, a small med tent already set up in the area. Inside, brothers were groaning and crying out in pain. I stopped outside and shook my head. "I'm not going in. I don't need to take up any space." "Smasher, I'm not going to take this from you. You're going to end up inside, one way or the other." I shook my head again and sat down to one side of the entrance. "No way, Clip." He sighed. "I'll get you when I'm done with Trap. You will end up coming inside. Even if I have to drag you in." He left me alone, while I closed my eyes and tried to block out the sounds of my brothers' pain._

_"Smash? Clip's waiting for you." I looked up and slipped off my helmet, suddenly feeling trapped. Trap must have seen the desperate look on my face, because he crouched down and gave me a sympathetic look. "It wasn't that bad. It didn't take long, either." I nodded, but pain suddenly shot up from my neck. I sucked in a sharp breath and closed my eyes, suddenly feeling lightheaded. "Smash?" I rose to my feet slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm going." I took a step, then quickly fell of balance, and landed on my stomach. "Clip! Smash isn't doing so hot!" Clip came running out and crouched down next to me. He touched my neck after a quick look and groaned. I winced away from him at his touch, pain flaring where he laid his fingers. "Not something that happens often, but it's certainly believable, after the way you took that detonation." He motioned to Trap and together, they took my arms and hauled my to an empty cot, laying me on my stomach. I struggled to keep my head up as my vision began to sway and darken. I let my eyes drop closed. Once. Twice... "Smash. I need you to stay awake for now. You can rest in a bit, I just need to check out how bad this is. Can you do that?" I struggled to answer as my mind became a mess of static and dark places. I gasped as something twisted the skin on my arm, and I turned to look. Clip held onto my arm in a pinch, twisting the skin between his fingers. He smiled. "There we go. Now I've got your attention." I sighed and laid back down. "Tell me what happened, buddy. Just recount the things you can remember while I work on you." Clip began taking apart my armor, while I searched my mind for the story. "Trap and I were closing in on the targets," I started, my voice grating in my throat. I cleared my throat. "Two enemies rushed us, getting up onto the tank, and tossed a grenade in. We managed to evacuate while they made their retreat, and we got mildly far before Trap fell." I winced, while Clip tore the fabric around my neck, turning that part of my shirt into a rag. "I stopped and helped him, but we weren't able to get much farther before the blast went off. We were knocked down, and I climbed over Trap, to try to take the worst of the damage." Clip tsked. "Trying to be the hero, then? Eh, I should have known. I've seen you in my care more times than I would care to count. Always getting yourself into trouble, brother. Especially since..." He trailed off, working in silence for a moment, while I remembered Sharp, and how he died. I swallowed and closed my eyes, pushing down the nausea. "Look," Clip lowered his voice to where only we could hear. "I never said it, but I don't agree with what we're doing. To the Jedi, or to the Republic." I tried to look at him, but he held me down. "Don't move." He worked in silence again. "It's good to know that we weren't the only ones," I said finally. I bit back a cry of pain as Clip pulled something out of my skin, making a triumphant sound. "Finally. There's the problem. It was so hot, it cauterized the wound as it went in, so there was very little blood." He held it in front of my face, so I was able to see the item that he pulled out. It was shrapnel, to say the least, an inch long, and a half inch wide, covered in blood from being pried out of my neck. I grunted. "Yeah, thanks Clip. I really wanted to know what was buried in my neck, causing all my problems." Clip chuckled. "Not everything is to blame on this little thing," he said, dropping it in a pan. "Like, for instance, you addiction to trouble. I'll never understand that. There must have been a leak in your bacta tank, or something." I pressed my lips together for a moment before replying, "Very funny, Clip." He chuckled and applied something to my wound that hurt worse than the shrapnel did. I let out a string of colorful language while Clip quietly chuckled at my pain. "I'm all done here," He said after he wrapped my neck. "Rest, now." He gave me something, and immediately, I felt drowsy and started to fall asleep._

I slowed as I neared the camp, out of breath, and tired, my aching body protesting with every step I took. I was relieved to see Jayin sitting on a log around a newly lit fire. He looked up and nodded, then looked to the woods again, searching them. I took a seat against a tree at the edge of the small clearing of our old camp, starting my own search. It was sunset before Chakshu and Daksh came into camp, looking like they could fall down and sleep where they fell. "Hey, boys," I said quietly. The nodded in response, eyes bleary. _Three here, three more to come,_ I thought. I was relieved to see them already here, but I was worried about Nitya, out there alone, farthest from the camp with her ankle sprained. We had fixed her a crutch- or as close to a crutch as we could get- but I was still afraid for her. I knew Nisha could make it, considering how strong she is, and Charin, Daksh's brother could make it, too, with just the idea of seeing his brother again. I hoped. Daksh was a lot younger mentally than he really was. He may have been the older brother physically, but truly, Charin was the big brother. I closed my eyes, listening for anybody else.

I woke late, the sun high overhead. I stretched and stood up, working my tired muscles as I looked around. I was the first one up, Chakshu and Daksh curled up by the fire while Jayin laid sprawled out on the log. I took off my helmet and looked around, breathing in the fresh air. After a quick glance at the boys, I walked out, deciding to walk the trail. It was quiet, and my soft steps sounded like trees falling, with the silence all around me. Then there was something louder. Footfalls. Someone was running through the forest. I replaced my helmet and scaled a tree, laying on a branch to look down. Nisha came into sight, sweaty and desperate, looking around. I dropped down in front of her, accidentally scaring her. She had taken the lightsaber off her belt and turned it on in a flash, pointing it at my throat. Recognition lit on her face and she turned the lightsaber off, hooking it on her belt. "Has Nitya arrived yet?" Her face was full of hope, and I regretfully shook my head. "Not yet. I'm sure she'll be here soon, though. Maybe sunset at the latest." Nisha nodded, looking fully disappointed. I put a hand on her back. "Why don't you get some sleep meanwhile? You look exhausted." Nisha nodded. "Okay." I led her back to the camp and piled more wood on the fire. Once she was settled and sleeping, I found the tallest tree close to camp, and climbed to the top, hooking a safety cable around the trunk. I could see the Stormtroopers in the distance, far enough away to not have to worry about, but still close enough that the sight of them brought up terrible thoughts. I closed my eyes and rested against the trunk, tucking a hand behind my neck, remembering the injury again.

"Hey Smash! You gonna fall out?" I jerked awake, falling sideways off the branch. I made a quick grab for the branch, but my hand slipped, and I fell another foot before my safety cable caught, and my belt held me. I groaned and grabbed onto the next nearest branch, putting my foot on the branch below for leverage. Once I was back on the branch, I looked down to glare at Nisha, who was grinning mischievously up at me. "Looks like you lost your grip, there," she laughed. I shook my head. "Very funny." I disabled the safety cable and climbed down the tree, moving swiftly, sure of every single move I made. I leaned against the tree with my arms folded when I got down, watching Nisha, who was still smiling. "You think that was hilarious, don't you?" She grinned. "Uh-huh." I noticed the dark circles under her eyes, and the puffy look to her eyelids. "You didn't get much sleep, did you?" She shook her head, her smile fading. "I'm worried about Nitya." She hesitated, looking like she was wanting to say more, but was uncertain about it. "What's wrong?" She bit her lip, then looked up at me. "Her and I had a fight before we left. I got mad at her and let her know how angry I was at her. Now I just hope we'll see each other again. I don't want out last moments to have been fighting." The regret was clear in her eyes, as well as the pain. I stepped forward and laid a hand on her shoulder. "She's going to be fine. You two will see each other again, make up, and live to fight another day." Nisha worried her lip a moment longer, then nodded, turning away. "I hope you're right." She walked away, leaving me to watch her progress in the setting sun. _I hope I'm right, too_, I thought, closing my eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

We all watched the sun set. This was the third day of waiting. Neither Charin or Nitya had come yet. Nisha paced at the edge of the camp, looking worried enough for all of us. Jayin rubbed his face, clearly irritated. "Nisha, just sit down already! You're not helping anything by pacing the edge of the camp like a caged animal!" Nisha spun on her heel to face Jayin. "I don't see _you _with anybody to worry for! You're already here safe and sound! _I _have my sister to worry about!" She started pacing again, working her hands into fists and releasing them. Jayin stood, his face red with anger. I went to stand next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down. "Let her be, Jayin. It's better to let her work off that energy. It's not good to keep so much in." Jayin glared up at me, but said nothing. After a moment, he went back to his brooding state, staring out at the forest. I looked to Daksh, who was murmuring to himself, rocking back and forth. Chakshu laid on his back, staring at the sky, blinking slowly, his eyes glazing over. I sighed. Every one of these kids had gone through something, and even though I didn't exactly know their full story, I could tell it was bad every time. There never was any good to come out of war. Especially not when the victims of the war were orphaned. I sighed and sat down to watch the sun set over the horizon.

"We need to get some rest," Jayin said, the sun long gone over the horizon. He stood and went into his tent, swinging the flap closed behind him. Slowly, Chakshu rose and took Daksh into his tent, closing the flap silently. I looked to Nisha, who was still pacing, her eyes outlined with purple and black. "You should rest, too," I said. She shook her head. "No. I'm going to wait for my sister. She'll be here tonight. I know it." I took off my helmet to massage my sore neck. "Look, if she comes tonight, she'll wake you. You know that. She'll want to see you and talk to you as soon as possible." Nisha spun to face me. "You _don't know her!_ Stop acting like you do!" I put my hands up in surrender. "You're right. I don't know her. Only her family does. But she knows you, too and she probably knows how much you're worrying for her right now, and that you would want to know that she's back with us." Nisha buried her hands in her hair, closing her eyes. "I'm going to take first watch." "I don't think that's necessary. The Stormtroopers already passed." She looked up sharply. "_I'm taking the first watch."_ I sighed and shook my head before retreating to my tent, and laying down to try to rest.

I was woken up by someone faintly sobbing, and I crept out of my tent quietly. Nisha sat in front of the fire, knees drawn up to her chest, and she rested her forehead on her knees as she quietly cried. The sky was turning milky with a predawn light, and there was still no sign of the others. I stood next to her, watching her. She looked up slowly after a moment, her rage clear on her face. "This is _your fault_," She seethed, standing up to face me. "It was _your idea_ to go through the lines separated, if we would have gone together, she'd be with us!" She punched me in the jaw so quickly I hadn't had time to react, and I stumbled back a step. She came at me again, but this time, I was able to duck out of the way, out of her reach. "Nisha, this is _not_ going to help anything!" I dodged another punch, growing wary of the rage in her eyes. I didn't know how far she would go with this. If she would kill me. She screamed in frustration and spun, giving a powerful kick that caught me off balance as I jumped back too late. _You're better than this_, I scolded myself. I ducked another punch and rolled out of the way of her downward strike and simultaneous kick. Her punches were coming faster as she got angrier and angrier. _She can't keep this up forever, _I decided. _I'll just let her work herself._ I caught on to each sign before she punched or kicked, and dodged each one carefully. The punch to the jaw had been bad enough. I didn't want another bruise- or worse- to go along with it. My eyes widened as it just got a whole lot worse. Nisha drew her lightsaber, and as the blue glow filled the dark spaces around us, I knew this had to stop. My heart raced faster in my chest, giving away my fear, but I kept my face carefully neutral, remembering that my helmet was still in my tent. Along with my armor. She swung her lightsaber at my right side, and I slid back, silently cursing myself for moving back and giving her ground. She slid forward, her lightsaber a blur as she moved at me again and again. I was starting to tire, when I saw my opening. She had her lightsaber raised over her head as she swung down, getting frustrated, and I charged. I caught her around the waist as I slid behind her, then caught her wrist as she swung to try to catch me with her lightsaber. I grimaced and pressed on the soft spot on her wrist. I added more and more pressure, until finally, she released the weapon. I kicked it away quickly as she broke out of my grip and swung at me. I blocked her with my arm and swung my leg around, catching the back of her knee, knocking her off balance for a second. I added a second kick to get her down, and I placed my knee on her leg as I caught her arms, forcing them to cross on her chest. I used my other leg to pin hers down, and I held her like that while she struggled and cursed, trying desperately to get free. I didn't know how long she fought me, but finally, she stopped fighting, and broke down crying. I eased off of her legs and sat beside her, holding her still as she turned and buried her face in my chest, gripping the fabric of my shirt tightly. I closed my eyes, giving her a squeeze, and rested my chin on the top of her head. "We'll go look for her, Nisha," I whispered. "You and me. We'll find her." Slowly, she stopped crying, and fell asleep in my arms, my shirt still in her fists. I listened to her rhythmic breathing as the sun began to rise above the horizon, casting eerie shadows as it chased them away.

Jayin came out of his tent first, stretching and squinting against the sun before his eyes found Nisha and I. I made a signal for him to keep quiet, and he nodded, looking curious. He fed the fire, which was slowly dying down, and settled next to it. It wasn't long before Daksh and Chakshu joined him, casting questioning looks my way. We stayed like this for most of the morning, lost in our own thoughts while Nisha slept.

The sun was at its peak when Nisha woke, first leaning in closer, then slowly realizing who she was leaning into. The boys stood up and quietly made their way to their tents before Nisha woke up enough to know they were there. "How long have I been asleep," She croaked, leaning back slightly. "All morning. You were tired." She sighed, letting her head rest on my shoulder. "I'm still tired," she said after a moment. She moved back, blushing. "I- I'm sorry." I nodded. "I understand. You don't have to apologize. But I was serious. We're _going_ to go get your sister. She's coming with us. Alive." Nisha nodded, a tear trailing down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb and shook my head. "Don't cry. You two will be together again soon." I stood and held out a hand for her. She looked at me for a moment, as I turned brisk again. She took my hand and I lifted her to her feet. "We'll pack our things and leave the stuff we won't need here to pick up later." Nisha nodded and started moving. I closed my eyes, clearing my thoughts and sending confusing emotions to the back to be locked away.

An hour later, we were all gathered up in the center of the camp. "Look, guys, Nisha and I aren't going with you." Jayin looked sharply at us. "_What?_""You heard me. We're going to go find Nitya. You can go ahead without us. I'm not going to ask you to stay and wait, but we're going by ourselves." Jayin shook his head. "No. You're not. We all need to stay together-" I held up a hand to stop Jayin. "No. It would be faster if Nisha and I go alone. It would also be easier for the two of us to hide, versus all of us trying to hide. There's better odds of us making it on our own than with you guys. Besides, if we don't make it, you need to." Jayin pressed his lips into a thin line, looking less than pleased. Daksh looked sadly at me. "You guys aren't coming back, are you? Neither is Charin." I blinked, thoroughly shocked by his words. "Daksh," I said, regaining my composure. I added force to my words, and let my determination show. "We _will_ come back. I'm not leaving you behind." I closed my eyes. "I can't make any promises about Charin. I'll keep my eye out for him, but I'd be lying if I said that I can promise his safe return." Everybody nodded, too grief struck to say a word. I pulled a nearly empty pack on, Nisha following my actions, and we turned to leave. "Good luck," Jayin called after us. Chakshu and Daksh echoed his words, and we left.

It was a long walk, and the silence between Nisha and I was unnerving and comforting at the same time. Silence was what I knew, but I also knew that we both had words for each other. I just didn't know what kind of words. I decided to start where I knew. Where I knew she had been prodding for every time we shared a conversation. "The Jedi I was ordered against is your father, isn't he?" I already knew the answer. I knew who he was when Nitya had told me his name, and told me he was their father. Nisha closed her eyes. "Yeah. He was." "I'm sorry." She looked at me. "For what? You disobeyed Order 66. You let him live." I looked down, watching my steps. "Then why do you refer to him in past tense?" I heard her sigh softly. "Because we got separated. I have no idea if my dad is dead or alive. I learned that I need to accept that he's likely dead, though. No Jedi will survive the Jedi Purge. My mom didn't, and she's not even a Jedi." I looked at her. "Some will. Some have." There was a flash of hope on her face before she wiped it away. "We can't hope to be rescued from this. I've come to realize that if we want to be saved, we can't wait for a savior. We have to make ourselves into our own savior. Make ourselves strong enough to fight the ones we fear. Maybe then, we'll win." I knocked my shoulder against hers gently. "I thought your sister was supposed to be the one good with words." Nisha smirked and flipped her hair over her shoulder to rest on her back. "I'm multi-talented." I laughed, the air of tension around us already clearing. "And Smash?" I looked over at her. "Yeah?" "Thanks. For disobeying. I don't know that we'd be here right now if you hadn't. You've saved our lives more than once already. Even before we knew each other." I nodded once. "I may be a clone, but even I have standards as to right and wrong. And killing Jedi is definitely wrong."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nisha and I watched the Stormtroopers set up their camp, watched them shut down the tanks and begin maintenance. A routine so familiar to me, in progress so flawlessly, just like we were trained. Inefficiency is unacceptable. That's what we were taught from day one. I looked closely at their armor, seeing a difference. "I have an idea," I said. Nisha looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Really? What is it?" I watched a Stormtrooper walk away from the group, singled out. "I can steal his armor and sneak in. I'll blend right in, and even if I have to take off my helmet, I'll still be in place." Nisha's eyes widened. "No. No way." I sighed. "Do you want your sister back, or not?" "I do! But that's a _crazy idea_! You could get yourself killed!" "It's better than us both getting killed. I'll get her, bring her here, or send her here, but no matter what, you need to get out of here and to the others. Even if they catch me. Understood?" Her lower lip pushed out in between a pout and a frown. "You're not going to change your mind, are you?" I shook my head. "Not a chance." She blew out a frustrated breath. "Fine. But if I don't see or hear from you in two hours, I'm coming in." I gritted my teeth and turned away from her. I couldn't understand why she was so stubborn.

I hid from the Stormtrooper that began picking up sticks, no doubt for firewood, and watched him carefully. Right now, if he were to head straight, he'd find me, but he turned his back to me to grab a log. That was when I took my chance. I hit him hard behind the head, then took his helmet off and used it to give him one last blow. I grimaced and used some vines to tuck him in the bushes and tied him up. Loose enough so that he could get away later, but tight enough to hold for a few hours. I changed out my armor and stashed it with Nisha, along with my bag, and left her alone. I quickly gathered a stack of firewood and walked calmly into the camp. A couple of troopers gave me a nod, while I walked to the wood pile. I dumped my load and looked around. I had gotten a lucky break. The camp setup was one I was familiar with. I wandered around until I found the prisoners section. There were cages set up, and sickly-looking prisoners inside them. Most were men who had cuts or scars to show for fighting against the Stormtroopers. Others were scared looking kids, looking unsure of the reason why they were there. I searched the faces, hoping for Charin or Nitya. Hoping to see both. Troopers walked past, ignoring the prisoners calling out for food, for water, and for mercy. I nodded once at them, as a couple turned their heads to look at me. I couldn't believe that these people are my brothers. _Used to be,_ I thought. _Not anymore. _I was starting to lose hope as the cages held no faces that I recognized. Then I saw one. I moved as fast as I dared to Nitya's cage, where she slumped against the bars, staring at the floor. "Nitya," I hissed through my teeth. She flinched away, shutting her eyes and shielding her face. "Nitya," I said softly. "It's me, Smasher. I'm getting you out of here." She looked up, and I flinched from what I saw. Her left eye was swollen and bruised, her cheekbone swollen to twice it's size, her lip split, and several scrapes and cuts. "What have they done?" I quickly found the latch, and slid it open. "No," She whispered, then louder. "No!" "_Shhh,"_ I said, holding a hand up. She began rocking back and forth, and keening, getting louder and louder. "Nitya, please, we need to be quiet!" She let out a wail, closing her eyes as I moved closer. "_Shhh,_" I insisted. I looked around quickly, then lunged, covering her mouth with my hand. She screamed into my hand, then began sobbing. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't want to scare you. We _have_ to be quiet, though! Or we'll never get out of here!" I lifted her to her feet, but she started kicking and thrashing. I cursed under my breath and set her down. "I'm so sorry, but you're not leaving me any choice here." I pinched her nose enough to cut off her air, and kept her mouth covered, feeling guiltier and guiltier as her eyes widened and she fought for her life. As soon as she passed out, I released her, and quickly slung her over my shoulder. I stood and carried her out, looking around to ensure I hadn't been seen. I made my way to the edge of the camp and to where Nisha was. I quickly laid Nitya next to her sister. Nisha gasped. "What happened?" I grunted. "You're going to hate me, and probably kill me, but save the killing for later. I had to make her pass out so she could quiet down." Nisha glared at me. "You're right. I _am_ going to kill you." I sighed. "Yeah, I'll remember that, and put you on the list of people that want my head." She raised an eyebrow. "There's a list already?" I shrugged. "Probably. Not a very long one, but I'm sure that my commander still wants my head." I turned to walk away, then I looked over my shoulder. "If I'm not back by dawn, leave me. Head north like you planned. Don't wait." Her jaw dropped. "_What?_ You expect us to leave you after all this?" I nodded once. "That's exactly what I want you to do." Nisha shook her head. "I can't do that. You've helped us get this far, get my sister back, and you expect me to leave you." She threw her hands up in the air. "You're crazy!" I closed my eyes. "It's what I was created to do. Risk my life, and give it up. I'm a soldier. Raised as nothing more." I started walking away, building the wall around my heart further. Then Nisha grabbed my arm. I stopped, but I didn't dare look back at her. "Smash." I steeled myself. "What." "You'd better come back." I shook my head. "I can't promise that." She stomped around me to face me, and yanked off my helmet. "Yes, you can. Because you _will_ come back. And if you don't, I'll come looking for you. I'll hunt you down, and I'll bring you back alive." She stared into my eyes, searching them. I looked down and shook my head. "I've already said that this is what I was cloned for, to follow orders. To give up my life. It used to be for the greater good, and I still stand by that. I'm not giving that up." Nisha set her jaw and folded her arms. "You're coming back. It may not be at dawn, but you will come back. When you do-whenever it is-follow this map. It's encrypted, but I know you'll be able to decipher it, since you know the land so well." I stared at the ground, refusing to raise my head and meet her eyes. I refused to promise something that I knew wasn't likely. Nisha balled her hand into a fist, tucked it under my chin, and guided my head so we were face to face. "Here's the map." She took my hand and pressed a holocron into the palm of my hand, then closed my fingers around it. "Meet us there if you can't be here by dawn. I'll leave if you at least say you'll try." I closed my eyes and sighed softly. "Fine. I'll try. But I'd better not find out that you stayed any longer than dawn." The corner of her mouth twitched. "Fine." She stepped back and out of my way, and I started back on my path, tucking the map into my belt and replacing my helmet. I didn't dare look back. I could already feel a bit of the walls I had built up slipping away. I didn't want to add to the crumbling walls. I took a deep breath and began building them back up. I reentered the camp and nodded at a passing trooper. He nodded back, paying no more attention to me after. I went back to the prisoners area, about to pick up where I left off when I heard an earsplitting shriek. The shriek of pain that had brought me to find it a couple months ago. I ran toward it, my blood turning to ice and draining from my face. I pushed myself faster and faster until I saw Charin thrashing and shrieking, fighting for his life, to get away from my brothers. He dropped to the ground, and hope surged in my chest. Until I saw the odd angle his leg was twisted in. He screamed in pain and struggled to his feet as the Stormtrooper hauled him up again and began dragging him off. I shook my head and followed, hoping that they wouldn't kill him before I could save him. I could hear him screaming still, and even though the sound cut my ears and my heart, I was reassured the he was still alive for now. It wasn't long before I caught up with them, stopped in front of the portable med bay. They tossed him to the ground and he cried out in pain. I was glad that he wasn't taken to be executed. The medic came out, wearing old clone armor. Armor that I recognized immediately. I waited for the Stormtroopers to leave, but one remained. I walked up to him and nodded. "You can leave. I'll take over." He looked at me for a moment. "Take off your helmet." I took off my helmet, careful to keep my face neutral. The trooper looked at me for a moment longer, then turned and left, leaving me to watch Charin. The medic gestured me over without looking up, getting ready to pick up Charin. I slipped my helmet back on and carefully grabbed Charin's arm, lifting him to his feet, and held most of his weight while we carried him to a bed. "I'm surprised you were so careful," The medic said, moving medical supplies over beside Charin. I pulled off my helmet. "I was never one to throw innocents around. Even if I have killed a few. You should know that, Clip." Clip turned around, eyebrows raised. He looked me up and down for a moment, hesitation in his eyes. "You're not Smasher, are you?" I nodded. "I am. It's been a while, brother." Clip nodded slowly. "Yeah. It has." He turned back to Charin and began peeling away the fabric stuck to his wounds. "I'm surprised you came back here after you disobeyed like that. They're still on the lookout for you, Smash. You're not high priority anymore, since they think you didn't survive very long, but they do keep an eye out for you." I chuckled softly. "I'd be kind of disappointed if they weren't." Clip let out a short laugh. "You've always been one of the crazy ones, Smash. The Kaminoans must have dropped you during a transfer, or gotten some formula wrong when they created you." "Well I'm one of a kind, now aren't I?" Clip looked over his shoulder at me for a moment, then went back to work. "Always have been since I've known you." We stayed silent for a few minutes, Clip cleaning Charin up, and me watching him, planning our escape. "Clip, you once told me you didn't agree with what was going on here. What we were doing." "_Mhm_ I also said that I never said that. So why do you bring this up, brother? It must have something to do with why you're here." I hesitated for a moment. "I'm here for the kid. Your current patient." Clip turned around, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "You want this kid? He was caught trying to sneak around us! What do you want with him?" "I want him back with me." Clip shook his head and continued with his work, his hands steady and sure as they worked. "One way or another, this kid is getting out of here. The question is, are you going to join us?" Clip paused for a moment, then turned to look at me. "Do you have a plan yet? I can't just leave here without a plan. There's another medic, so I'm not too concerned with that, but you can't just haul an injured prisoner out of here without drawing attention." I closed my eyes. "This is one reason why I need you. I also want you to have the option to get out. I'm going to need you to follow the plan very carefully." I looked Clip in the eye. "Are you willing?" He raised his head. "What's the plan?"

I dropped my pistols in the bag, along with a holocron recording and closed it. I handed it to Clip, who took it with a solemn nod. "Make sure Nisha gets this. Please." "I will, brother." He hesitated for a moment. "You don't have to do this. I can find something else to do." I gave a brittle laugh. "No, Clip. As much as I appreciate it, they don't want your head like they want mine." Clip shook his head sadly. "I remember when we were all just brothers. Now, we're enemies and monsters. Feared throughout the galaxy when we used to be heroes." I nodded. "I may have not been around long, but I know that we used to be good soldiers. Some of us still can be, though. Go, Clip. Take the kid. I'll start on the distraction." I turned without waiting for a response and placed my helmet on. I touched the explosives on my belt, assuring myself that they were there, and I covered the regret that was already forming with determination. I wasn't going to see one of the kids in my charge die. Not today. Not ever. I would give up my life before that happened. As many times as it would take for them to be safe. I made my way to the infantry, looking over the cannons and turrets. There were only a couple of Stormtroopers doing maintenance on them, and it wasn't long before I saw the perfect spot to place the bomb. I walked over to one of the larger cannons, the ammunition stacked next to it. I rolled a couple away with my foot and placed the charge under the cannon. I set the time for two minutes, and quickly picked up the ammunition that I had rolled away. I took it to the edge of the infantry area, then stood on a crate. "Attention, troopers." My brothers looked up from their work, leaning back to see me. "We have orders to gather up at the medical tent. We are to receive a medical evaluation on our conditions." They looked confused, but they stood and placed their helmets on their heads or tucked them under their arms. "Let's go, men! The medic doesn't have all day!" They groaned and began jogging, and I turned and made my escape to the grub tent. I took a seat toward the back and watched the others as I counted down the time in my head. _30...29...28...27...26...25..._ "You a shiny?" I looked up from my hands at the trooper standing at the end of my table. "Yeah. Just got dropped here." He sat down. "That explains why you're not sitting with your squad. Usually we sit with our squads and talk. You know, since meal time is our only free time." I shook my head. "It's hard to believe." The trooper laughed and opened his mouth to say something, right as the blast went off. I ducked my head, covering the back of my neck with my hands. A knee-jerk reaction now. A second explosion went off and I winced. Not exactly what I had planned for, but it would be further distraction for them. The trooper straightened up and looked at me, his face a perfect mask of shock. The tables burst out in chatter, everybody wondering what happened as they stood and began pushing their way out of the tent. I stayed seated, even as the trooper who was standing by my table left. It wasn't long before the tent was cleared out and I was the only one left. I stood slowly, looking around, taking in my surroundings. There was only one exit, the tent walls set snugly into the ground. The only other way to escape would be to rip open a hole, and the fabric wasn't usually easy to rip unless it was close to being retired. I walked out of the tent casually, thumbs hooked in my belt. _This is going to be too easy, they're going to suspect something, _I thought. I thought for a moment, then turned and went back into the grub tent. I got lucky. They kept a case of blasters close to the exit, in case of emergency, and now, I had a blaster and a pistol. I loaded them and got extra ammo, just in case I had to hold my own longer than anticipated. I grabbed a piece of food and sat down at a table, removing my helmet. I set it down on the seat beside me and laid the blaster on the table while I set the pistol in my belt. I took a casual bite, waiting for the troopers to figure out who caused the blast, and where I was.

It didn't take very long for them to find me. I heard them coming before I saw them, and I put my helmet on and had my blaster in hand. They surrounded the entrance and then troopers came in, two at a time. I counted ten inside. My stomach turned at the thought of killing my own brothers. _They held and hurt Nitya and Charin. They're not your brothers anymore. Think of how many they've killed._ I raised my chin defiantly as a commander and captain came inside. My eyes locked on the commander as he stood at attention in the front, head held high. I momentarily looked at the captain, of whom I didn't recognize, then looked back to the commander. "Now who can you be?" The commander asked slowly, as if I couldn't understand otherwise. I took off my helmet. "What's wrong, Vox? Don't recognize me?" He took off his helmet and looked at me through narrowed eyes. "Smasher. I would have thought you were dead by now. The way you were always getting into trouble, I thought you would have turned up before now." I smirked. "That's your problem, Vox. You think too much, and _you think_ you know everything. But you don't." Vox nodded calmly, but I could see the anger glittering in is eyes, just below the surface. "So, if I don't know as much as I think I do, why are you here? Enlighten us!" I leaned back. "Well, as you know by now, as bomb was placed in your infantry. That was mine. You're welcome for not blowing up your soldiers along with the infantry, by the way. I didn't have to warn them, but I did it out of kindness for their lives. But, would you like to take a guess at why I'm here?" Vox took a step forward, angling toward the edge of the tent. "Maybe you came back for revenge? You were given an order you couldn't handle, knew the way it would end, and decided to come back to place your revenge on the way you think you were forced to leave?" I shook my head. "That's not why I'm here. Nice guess, though." I pulled my blaster in front of me and examined it, taking my time. I looked up subtly, studying the captain, who still stood in his place, facing me. His posture was relaxed, but not arrogant, like Vox's. He was different, somehow. "Not going to take another guess, Vox?" He chuckled. "Maybe you came back to avenge your friend. What was his number again? CT-4816? Yes, that was it. He couldn't do it, either. Couldn't follow the simple order, and you know how it ended. It never ends well, and usually, the job still ends up being done, sooner or later." I clenched my fists. "His _name_ was Sharp." Vox ignored me, a cruel smile forming on his face. "You watched him fall. You even burned him. He was a traitor. Just. Like. You." I stood quickly and pointed my finger at him. "No. I am _not_ the traitor. _You _are a traitor to the Republic. Sharp and I only defended what we believe in. If I get killed for that like he did, then so be it." Curiosity lit Vox's eyes. "So if not to avenge your brother's death, then why are you here, Smasher?" I folded my arms. "I want all these prisoners released. Every. Single. One." Vox laughed. "That's not going to happen, kid. They're _prisoners. Our prisoners._ We will release them if we ever see fit." I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So why are they imprisoned?" Vox shrugged. "They were dangerous. Rebellion cannot be allowed. They fought back or showed signs of rebellion." I snorted. "You imprisoned innocent people because you were afraid that they would be a threat to your precious army? The army that used to be the greatest army in the galaxy has now fallen to be afraid of a rebellion?" Vox clenched his fist and anger etched lines in his face. "We are _not_ afraid of simple villagers." He composed his face to look unconcerned. "We just merely don't want them to hurt themselves. It'd be a shame to lose a planet to them killing themselves off by attempted rebellion." I shook my head. "They're not stupid. They're not going to risk their own family's lives just to kill off a few of you." The corner of Vox's mouth quirked up. "A few of _us__,_ brother. Have you already forgotten you're a clone? We're called Stormtroopers now, but that's only a name change. It doesn't change that we're brothers." I shook my head and replaced my helmet. "No. We aren't brothers. We used to be, but that changed when you chose to betray the Republic we used to fight for." I picked up my blaster and walked around the table. The Stormtroopers readied their blasters, taking a steadier aim at me. "Now, I want the prisoners freed, and I'm walking out with them." Vox smirked. "Smasher. Don't you realize that you're only one little clone? Against twenty of us? And there's more troopers I can call on, I just didn't want to frighten you off!" I nodded. "I know. But one is enough to make a change. That's enough for me. Then there will be more after me. You just don't know who yet." Vox shrugged. "They'll be handled when they come up. There's something else we want from you, though. And I think you know what." I stood there silently. I knew exactly what they wanted, but I wasn't about to say it. Vox turned impatient in an instant. "Where is it?" I shook my head. "I don't recall what you're talking about." He slammed his fist down on the table. "The item the Jedi gave you! You know, the one you were supposed to kill but made friends with him instead? _That_ is what I'm talking about." I looked up. "Ah! That item!" I looked straight at him. "I lost it."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Vox's face turned bright red and his face twisted in anger. "Don't fool with me, kid. I _know_ didn't lose that item! Now _where is it?_" I shrugged casually. "I have no clue. I told you. I lost it." Vox swung his hand in my direction. "Capture him. Alive." Troopers came toward me, moving quickly. I pointed my blaster at them and fired a shot right behind one of them. They all stopped and pointed their weapons at me. "Put it down! Now!" I shook my head. "I've already told you all. I'm leaving, with the prisoners." Vox shook his head and pressed two fingers to his temple. "You don't understand this, do you? You have nothing to bargain with! Nothing to hold over us!" I shrugged. "Why do you want me alive, then?" Vox grinned. "Because I want the item the Jedi gave you, and I want any information you have." Hunger shone in his eyes. A hunger that made the blood drain from my face before he even said another word. "Because I want to break you. Make you pay for disobeying, and make you finish your time as a soldier." He turned away. "Get him. Now!" He turned casually to leave as the troopers began moving in on me. I turned the table over and ducked behind it, trying to figure out a way to hold him off for just a bit longer. I cursed and stood. I aimed my blaster, and pulled the trigger. The blaster bolt shot true. It skimmed the Vox's helmet, which he had placed back on his head, leaving a mark on it's side. Vox froze and reached up to touch the spot on his helmet where I had hit. He turned to face me, his body rigid with anger, his fists clenched. I gave him a mocking two fingered salute before I shot at the rope that held the heavy fabric of the door open. The door fell shut, leaving us in darkness. "Get some lights on," Vox shouted, frustration eating up his voice. I moved to the table to my right and quickly overturned it. Plates crashed to the ground as the troopers scrambled to find their lights and turn them on. I snorted. "We used to be better trained than this. My regiment would have had their lights on already and have located the enemy!" I moved on to the next table and overturned it. One light switched on, then others followed as one helped another. I was able to move on the the next table and overturn it before the began turning their lights to search for me. I waited for their lights to pass over the table before I moved behind the one in front of it. I pushed it over as I passed to go to the one in front of it, pushing it over as well. I kept moving, until I got to the wall of the tent, leaving the other tables alone. I sat in the dark corner, watching their lights close in on the tables I had knocked over. "How hard can it be to find that clone?!" I heard Vox's fist hit a table and heard feet scrambling to get away and look. I crouched down lower as a light made it's way along the walls. _I have to fight_, I thought grimly. I took aim at the clone working his way to me, and I placed my finger on the trigger, ready to squeeze. I cursed and switched the blaster setting to stun and pulled the trigger, hitting the trooper perfectly. _My brother. No matter how much I deny it, they're still my brothers, and I'll never be able to think of them any differently. _I looked away as he went rigid, then fell, instead, I concentrated on the troopers beginning to close in on my position. They started shouting orders to each other and closing in, while I stood and readied myself for a fight. There was no way I was going down without one. "Put your weapon down," The leading trooper ordered calmly. I shook my head. "Sorry. I can't do that." "Trooper, that is an _order_. Put down your weapon!" Anger surged through me. "I am _not_ one of you! I am a Clone Trooper of the Republic Military! Not one of you Stormtroopers! I refuse to follow a corrupt government blindly, taking orders and taking lives without thinking! I am _not _some droid!" I raised my blaster, and the Troopers responded by readying their own. "_Put it down!_" I shook my head. "I'm not giving up tonight. You're just going to have to fight me-take me down fighting- or kill me." The leading Trooper waved them forward, and slowly, in one movement, they began closing in on me. I took the shot, stunning the Trooper closest to me. "Hold your fire!" I turned to the leading Trooper and pointed my blaster at him. "Hold them. Or you won't be ordering them for the rest of the night." He shook his head. "I don't negotiate with traitors. Rush him!" He ducked out of the way just as I pulled the trigger, and the stun bolt went right past him, just barely missing him. Several Troopers came at me at once, but I shot one, kicked the other in the knee, and hit the last in the stomach with the stock of my blaster. I turned in time to face two more Troopers, but I wasn't fast enough. One jumped on my back, trying to drag me down. I chuckled in my mind at his attempt. I grabbed his arms, which were hanging over my shoulders, his hand looking for a hold on my armor, and I used them to flip him off of me, barely missing the other Trooper. He rushed me with his blaster raised, ready to shoot me. I ducked under it and caught him in the stomach, using his own force to flip him over my shoulder. He landed on the ground with a hard _thump _and he grunted in pain before going unconscious. I turned, assessing the line to determine who would come next. I locked my eyes on a Trooper that had tried to shift forward undetected. He ducked slightly lower, then ran at me, shoulder lowered, and I could tell he had the intent to ram into me. I scoffed and side stepped him at last moment, when it was too late to stop in time, and let him ram into the heavy fabric of the tent. He fell over, slipping on the fabric because of his armor. I stunned him and faced the line again in time to see two more coming at me. I pulled the trigger and one went down. The other stopped and raised his weapon. The ring leader ran up to join him, and three others followed. "This has gone on long enough. Drop your weapon or we _will_ shoot!" "So will I," I said calmly. Two more Troopers came up, moving toward me slowly. I turned and stunned one, and stiffened as I heard a shot fired and felt the stunning blast hit me. I felt my muscles spasm and I fell to my knees, but I refused to fall over. I raised my blaster enough to shoot another Trooper, and he fell, but I heard another shot fired, and it hit me in the chest. I pulled the trigger as my finger spasmed along with all the other muscles in my body. I gasped in pain and my eyes widened. I tightened the grip on my blaster, refusing to let my muscles give out as they wanted to. I moved my leg to stand, nearly falling over in the process. I was on one knee now, about to work to a crouch, when another stun blast hit me in the shoulder. I grunted and to my disgrace, dropped my weapon and fell over. "Shoot him again! We don't need him getting up." A Trooper came and stood over me, pointing his blaster down at me. When he pulled the trigger, everything went dark for me.

_I stared out at the sunset, which set the horizon in a frenzy of colors, all of them a different shade of the sky or the sun. I knew distantly in my mind that something was wrong, but it refused to come to the surface completely. There was a blissful silence in my mind for once, though, of which I could be grateful for. I gazed out at the horizon, in a trance, as I enjoyed the peace. "Hey, little brother." I looked behind me, confused. Shock gripped me as I recognized Sharp, his scars, his tattoos, and his closely cropped hair. "You-you're dead though!" He chuckled. "Hello to you, too." I shook my head, staring at him in disbelief. "How?" He shrugged. "Everything is part of the Force, even us, and eventually, when we leave our bodies behind, we become one with the Force, I guess. I didn't really get a lesson on this, the Jedi would probably have a better idea on this than me." I stared at him in amazement and shook my head. "I can't believe this!" I stopped and thought for a moment. "But... Why are you here? Am I dead? Or about to die?" Sharp shook his head. "I can't tell you that, brother. I came to tell you that you need to be strong, remember what you stand for, what you believe in and what you fight for. You'll need your strength in the days to come. Value your life, but also value the lives of others, because the things that you do will always have a consequence, even if it's not right away. Remember what I died for, and what you were willing to give up your life for." I shook my head. "I don't understand, Sharp! What are you talking about?" He shook his head. "It's time for you to wake up and go back. Your fight will begin very soon." Sharp gave a small salute and faded away, and I was left gaping at the place where he had stood._

I sat up with a gasp, my head throbbing and my blood pounding through my ears. I looked around slowly, trying to get my eyes to focus on my surroundings. Slowly, my blurry vision cleared up, and to my dismay, I was in a cage, the floor muddy, and stinking. The next thing I realized was that we were moving, that the cage was attached to another and we were being pulled behind a heavily built speeder. I looked around again, my eyes sliding over a muddy object pressed into the corner. They found it again and as I stared at it, I realized that it was a person. The person pushed itself further into the corner, whimpering and curling into a tighter ball. I was so confused as I stared at the cowering person. _How did I get here? Where is here? Why am I in a cage?_ Slowly, my memory surfaced, and I remembered what happened, that I fought until my brothers took me down. I still didn't have a clue as to where I was, but I knew the rest. I looked down at myself, slowly becoming aware of the fact that my armor was missing. I was wearing the underclothes of the armor. Luckily, it kept me well insulated, despite being damp, or I would have been colder than I was. I knew that much. I was chilled, but I could deal with it. My eyes found the other person in the cage with me. I looked closely, trying to distinguish the person from the mud on the floor. I tried to stand, but the cage wobbled, and I suspected it had been left like that not only out of the fact that they didn't care if the prisoners got hurt, but to discourage them from standing. I grimaced and pushed mud away from me, then tried to get as comfortable as possible. I leaned my throbbing head back against the bars, wincing when we hit a rock and my head bounced. I closed my eyes, squeezing them tight, them rubbing my temples. I stayed like that for a moment, then groaned in frustration and stood, grabbing onto the bars for support. I slipped, nearly falling, but I held on tight. My gloves threatened to slip on the bars as we hit another bump, so I let myself slide down to sit. I peeled my gloves off and tucked them in my waistband, then, my hands exposed to the rough metal, I pulled myself back up. I used my training to my advantage, learning the cage's gravity pull and habits, then going with them, making it easier to stand. Or so I thought. The speeder made a quick swerve, jerking the cages to the side, and having let go of the bar, I slipped on the mud and fell, sliding up against the bars on the opposite side. I grunted and groaned, letting my head fall back and into the mud. "Oh, man. That hurts without my armor." To my surprise, I heard giggling in the corner, where the person was huddled. Their body was shaking with the laughter, while I saw the shine of amused eyes. I sighed and closed mine. "Glad I could bring some amusement somewhere." I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned my head to look at the person. It was little girl, her little legs tucked under her as she knelt next to me. She pointed to me. "You are a bad guy, aren't you? You look like them. Except no armor, and no weapon." I sighed. "No, I'm not one of them. I'm a clone of the Republic army. I serve the citizens of the Republic, not them. That's why I'm here with you, and not out there." She looked at me with curiosity. "_Why_ aren't you with them? Especially if it got you put in here?" I shook my head. "I just don't believe that what they're doing is right. I won't follow them when they do this. I follow the Republic and what it stood for." She stared at me for a moment. "You don't like what they do here, so you disobeyed them and that's why you are in here?" I shrugged and sat up. "Put simply, yes." I was surprised when she lunged at me and wrapped her arms around me the best she could. I gaped down at her, my arms in the air, then I slowly moved my arms to hold her. "Thank you," she whispered softly against my chest. It was that moment that I realized that what I did not only had an impact on myself, and Nisha and Nitya's family, but this community, and maybe the world, too. Maybe even the galaxy, if I could just make a point. I closed my eyes and held the child tight, knowing that she understood, even just a little what I did. "We can help each other," she whispered into my chest, pressing her head against me and holding my shirt tight in her hands.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I was woken by the cages jolting to a halt, kept apart only by the beam that drug them along behind the speeder. I looked down at the girl tucked next to me, curled up in a ball, her back to me. I rubbed her arm. "Wake up, we've stopped." She sat up quickly, her eyes round. "Stopped?" I nodded, a knot of apprehension forming in my stomach. A grin formed on her face. "_Dinner_," she whispered. I let myself slump, relief coursing through me.I didn't expect a feast, or a meal that tasted good, but when a trooper came with a single dish that looked just like the mud on the floor, my stomach turned. He pushed it through a slot, where the girl snatched it from him and went to the corner. He pointed to me. "You, come out." The girl looked at me, worry in her eyes. I gave her an encouraging nod. "It's okay. I'll be fine, you eat your meal." I stood in front of the door, my back to her, as the trooper opened it. He grabbed my shirt and yanked me out, causing me to tumble out of the cage. He slammed the door behind me and kicked me in the ribs. "Get up, you traitor." I coughed and slowly stood. I stayed silent, refusing to give them anything, even my words. He shoved me forward. "Let's go." I glared over my shoulder at him before continuing. "I'm warning you now, traitor, you run, and I'll shoot you. Not just a stun blast, either. I'll kill you." I snorted and thought _yeah, like that's what I'm worried about right now_. I held my head high as I walked with the blaster pressed to my back. My muscles ached from the cold and protested to being marched across the camp to the back of a transport ship, but I still held myself high, refusing to show them any weakness. I stopped just outside the ship, narrowing my eyes at it. I wasn't going to leave this planet. Not with the kids I'm protecting still here. The trooper behind me snorted. "Do you really think you're going to leave this planet alive? Not a chance." I looked over my shoulder, suspicious, before I took the first step onto the ship. It was darker inside than it was outside and I had to pause to let my eyes adjust. What I saw inside made me wish I had never entered the ship. The walls were lined with cages, floor to roof, and even the occasional on in front of another. Inside, were natives, starved and begging for food, or in a corner staring at the bars, lost in their own mind. My stomach clenched as my eyes roamed the people, anywhere from children to old men, and crying women. As I passed a child's cage, he reached out, crying in his native tongue what I assumed was for food or help. I brushed his hand with my own and nodded once to him. I only hoped he could see the sympathy in my eyes and understood that I couldn't do a thing about this. I heard the trooper hit his weapon on the bars, but bile rose in my throat when I heard the boy cry out in pain. I clenched my fists, barely keeping myself in check enough to continue on. What I really wanted to do, though, was turn around and beat the trooper until he lost consciousness. He took me through a door that lead to a moderately finished room, furniture bolted down to the floor and drinks secured in a display. On a cushioned chair sat Vox, the captain on his right side, standing at attention. There were six other troopers, three at each side of the room, to my right and left, all standing at attention with their weapons in hand. I sneered at Vox and narrowed my eyes. He tipped his cup to his lips and finished his drink in a single swallow. Then he smiled. Hate rose inside me as I clenched my jaw to hold my silence. I could think of many things to say, things to call him, and things I wanted to do to rid this galaxy of his very existence. "I hope you had a wonderful ride, Smasher. Let us know if your living area isn't _comfortable_." I stood staring at him, my icy resolve replaced inside me once again. I pushed my emotions down and stared behind Vox, refusing to let him get a rise out of me by his meaningless words. His face contorted to a sneer for a moment, then it cleared quickly. "Maybe I can persuade that tongue of yours to move." He looked behind me at the trooper that had escorted me. "Bring some... influential material." I braced myself, trying to remember what he had used on the natives before. A laser came to mind, activated and guided to take piece after piece of the victim. An electrified knife came next, and I recalled them stabbing it in the victim, and activating it. I remembered listening to hours of him being eased of his pain, then wrenched back into it as they began again. I heard the door behind me slide open, but I refused to look, to give him the satisfaction of my curiosity. That was until I heard a woman cry out as she was shoved forward, past me, her arm twisted up behind her back as she was taken to Vox. The blood drained from my face as she was turned to face me, then kicked in her shins, knocking her on the ground. I gritted my teeth, focusing my glare on Vox. He smiled a slow, vicious smile. "I think we'll have plenty entertainment tonight, don't you, Smasher?" He looked down at her and pulled a lock of hair behind her ear. "Not very sophisticated natives, though. They hiss and spit like animals when they're threatened or harmed." He grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled it, tipping her head back from the weight of him pulling. She howled in pain, her eyes going wide, and she reached up, trying desperately to claw his arm, to make him release her hair. She hissed at him and yelled, speaking a language I didn't recognize. Vox released her, smiling in satisfaction. "See? Animals. If they're going to act as such, they'll be treated as such." He looked down at the woman in disgust, eyes roaming over her dirty clothes and matted, mud caked hair. "You see, I don't care for these people, but _you... _You seem to have a soft spot for people that you think are innocent." He glared down at the woman. "But you see, Smasher, no person is truly innocent. Children? They play cruel games, beat each other, and say things that shouldn't come from a child's mouth, were they truly innocent. Innocent women? They look at men other than their husbands, think that they're just looking, that no harm will come, as they admire the other man. Innocent men? They beat each other, their wives, their children, say things that should not be said by an innocent person. These so called innocent people portray love, but in reality, they all hate each other, want to hurt each other. _Kill_ each other. They are not innocent. They just _seem_ innocent." He lifted his eyes to me, a fire blazing within them. A hunger that I could not explain. "Now, Smasher, this woman, innocent as you think she is, will be the victim of your stubborn mind. Keep your silence, and you will not pay- at least not physically- she will." Vox stroked her hair absentmindedly as disgust and horror churned inside me. He smiled. "Are we clear? Perfectly, crystal clear?" I nodded once. His hand went from stroking to clenching and pulling the woman's hair in an instant. She cried out in pain and tears welled up in her eyes. She reached up, desperately trying to free herself from his grasp. Vox sneered at me. "I _said_ are. We. Clear." I nodded. "Yes. Yes, we are." My voice came out hoarse, hardly understandable, but the corner of Vox's mouth quirked up and he released the woman. She gasped and fell to the ground, hands on her head and sobbing. "Good." He stroked the woman's head again, ignoring her hands trying to ward him off. "Now, I want to know why you were there at camp. _Really_ there, not just an unbelievable lie that you were trying to free the prisoners. I doubt you were." I glared at him. "It's the truth. I _was_ trying to save the prisoners." Vox shrugged. "I'm doubtful. Why would you care to release them? Risk getting caught to release mere natives?" I held his daring gaze with a defiant one. "I knew it would tick you off to find that your prisoners had been released by a clone that had defied you once already. I thought maybe I could prod you, since I don't live under your command anymore." The look he gave me made my common sense scream _that was a stupid idea! Why did you prod him when you're a blaster's shot away from being killed?!_ I quieted the voice and stared at him defiantly. Vox laughed. Not a true laugh, but once that was full of deception and rage. "You're a bold one, aren't you? I mean, I knew you were bold since you defied Order 66, but to sit here and try to anger me while your life lies in my hands? Not that shows that you are not only bold, but crazy, too. But tell me, Smasher, how much do you care for these people? Why do you care for them? And why plant that bomb where you did? You must have known that it wouldn't affect our power, so I want to know why, besides for a distraction." I worked my jaw, my mind working overtime to find the right answer while not giving my true intentions away. "Come on, Smasher. I don't want to be here all evening. Remember the woman will pay for your silence." I clenched my jaw and glared at him. "I care for them enough to get them away from you and your heartless troopers. You're colder than they are, though. A droid." Rage contorted Vox's face. "I am _not_ a droid! The Empire chose us over droids because we are _better_ than them!" I shook my head. "Not if you follow orders as mindlessly as they do." "You will _not_ speak to me as if you're better than me! You are a _traitor!_ You are _lower_ than the rest of us! No better than a worthless animal." I nodded slowly. "I'd say the same to you, but that would be an offense to the animals, seeing that they have more mercy, compassion, and care for even those that are not their own." Vox stood and stormed over to me, then punched me across my face. My head snapped to the side and I slouched for a moment in pain, then stood straight, staring defiantly back at Vox, who was panting, his fists clenched at his side. "Bow down to the Empire, traitor. Maybe then we can forgive your mistakes." I shook my head. "Never. I stand for the Republic. I serve the citizens of the Republic." Vox laughed. "There _is_ no more Republic! It crumbled away as the Empire rose from it!" I laughed sourly. "If you believe that, you're a bigger fool than I originally thought. The Republic was broken from the inside by the Sepratists, destroyed by the very Chancellor that was in office. Politics destroyed the Republic, and the citizens payed for it. You? You're only a pawn, just like the rest of us that follow without question. Those who follow without questioning are the traitors. _You_ are traitors! Traitors to the Republic we were created to defend!" I took a step forward to stand with my face mere inches from his. "And you _dare_ to call _me_ the traitor." Vox shoved me back, his breathing fast and rage changing his face to something of nightmares. "You _are_ a traitor. A rebel lover, and a disease that needs to be removed." He turned away from me, facing the woman. When he turned around, his face was eerily calm. "You know what, Smasher? I think I know what happened. You were out here an awfully long time, under a lot of stress. Not to mention your own brother and friend had probably brainwashed you before he got himself killed. Then you were placed here and given the same orders he had disobeyed, and brainwashed you into disobeying." His voice became mockingly compassionate, even dramatically so. "You must have been _so_ confused, and then when you disobeyed, you ran, were left to the natives, who probably convinced you that they were innocent, and that your brothers aren't to be trusted." He gestured behind him. "People like her, who had dared to attack us. Us! Your _brothers!" _He shook his head sadly. "I hate to do this to you, but there are others, like you, who have been taken captive and brainwashed by the natives. There's a place here on this planet, though. It will help you remember where your place is. That these people-" he gestured toward the woman again. "-don't care about you, they only plan to use you. But we? We care! We are your family, Smasher. The only ones you will ever have." Vox looked down for a moment, as if he were regretful. "Captain Rex and I have thought about this, and he will escort you to the camp, where you will be rehabilitated, along with some natives and your brothers. You will be kept partly with your brothers, as to assure your quick recovery." He looked me in the eyes, his face shaped in concern. "We only want to _help_ you, Smasher. We're going to leave execution as a last resort. We want to save you, brother." I shook my head. "No. You want to prove a point. _That_ is what you want to do, and you and Rex have decided that I would be the best candidate to make your point to those thinking about doing the right thing." Vox shook his head. "I'm afraid you're wrong, brother. I'm so sorry I didn't see this sooner. Maybe we could have saved you sooner." He went and stood behind the woman who was still on her knees. "The sooner that you see that these people, the natives, have turned you against us and convinced you of things that aren't true, the better for you. The sooner that you see that these people aren't innocent, that they need to fall in order for a grand Empire to rise, the better! The lives of these people are worthless, compared to your brothers." He unsheathed a knife. "You'll see, soon enough." "No!" I ran at him as he placed the knife at the woman's throat. Two troopers caught me by the arms, then a third joined them, forcing me too my knees as one placed his knees on my lower legs, using his weight to pin them down. I struggled, fighting to get to the woman as Vox grinned at me. He pressed the blade down, and in one swift motion, swiped it across her throat. Her eyes widened in horror as her blood spilled from the gaping cut on her throat. "No! She didn't have anything to do with this!" I writhed against my captors, glaring at Vox. He snorted. "She was a rebel. Hardly worth the fuss you're making. Be glad we didn't just bomb her and twenty-nine others like we usually do. This was more than she deserves." I watched as she fell to the ground, clutching her throat as if to stop the bleeding. I felt sick, watching her life fade away as her blood pooled around her. Finally, she stopped moving, and the panicked breaths ceased as her eyes became distant. I managed to pull away enough to puke in front of the trooper holding my left arm. He made a sound of disgust as they held me. I looked up at Vox, who stood staring down at me with contempt in his eyes. "You've gotten weak, trooper. We'll need to work on that during your re-education. Call it rehabilitation, though. We'll make you right at home soon enough." He gave a wicked smile before turning his back on me. I tried to lunge at him, but the troopers held tight, and I was stuck in the same place. I grit my teeth and glared at him, wishing I could break both his arms and knock his teeth out. I jerked forward again, trying to shrug them off at the same time. The trooper on my left yanked my arm and held me straighter than I was before, and it took but a moment for the other trooper to do the same. "You're lucky you have your pets here to hold me, otherwise I'd be ripping that smug look off your face, Vox. You'd better hope I never get my hands on you, because I will _kill_ you!" I jerked forward again, rage burning inside of me. Vox laughed and turned to face me. "Is this because of the simple little native? Smasher! She's only a little rebel! A bump trying to stop our plans for the universe! She means nothing!" I stared at him, jaw clenched, then forced my eyes to go blank and I went limp, my weight on my arms and knees now. Vox smiled slowly. "Bring him to me." The trooper got off the back of my knees and the troopers holding my arms lifted me to my feet and drug me over to Vox. I forced myself to relax and trust them to hold me up. My head hung, and I stared down at the ground, concentrating on keeping my breaths steady and slow. "Look at me, Smasher." Vox's voice was soft, as if he were talking to a child. He tucked his fist under my chin and guided my head up to look at his face. There was pride and victory mixed into his smug expression, and it took all my strength to stare blankly at him. "We're going to make you all better again, okay? You'll be back with your brothers in no time. Then you can get your revenge on the rebels and kill them all." He must have seen something in my eyes, because a moment before I knocked my head into his as hard as I could, his eyes widened. He stumbled back, his hand on his head as the troopers slammed me into the ground and pressed my face to the ground. I struggled, turning my aching head to try to free it. "Take him out to his cage and prepare to ship him off immediately! I don't want to see his face again until he is _fully_ rehabilitated!" The troopers hauled me to my feet as I shot a sour grin to Vox. "What's the matter, Vox? You afraid to handle me yourself?" I called over my shoulder, taking the chance to pry at him a little more and take joy in it, before the complete misery started. That was all I could imagine to come.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The troopers tossed me back in the transport cage, where the little girl watched as I slid across the floor for a moment, gathering up mud on my clothes. I grunted in dismay and stood up, brushing some mud off. The girl frowned and crawled over, pointing at a cut I just got. I nodded. "I'm fine, kid. You worry about yourself." I looked around, looking for any way out, but there was none. The door was locked up tight, with no chance of escape without the key. The rest of the bars were reinforced metal, with no signs of being able to get through any other way. A trooper came over, his hand on his pistol and pointed to the girl. "You. Come out." The girl went running over, and waited as the trooper began unlocking the cage. I strode over and tucked her behind me. "Where are you taking her?" The trooper sighed and opened the door, his hand off his pistol now. "Relax, I'm just taking her to use the little girl's bush." The girl ducked past my legs and ran out, pausing a few feet away. The trooper watched then turned to lock the door. "I'll come back for you in a minute, don't worry." I could hear exasperation in his voice, but he was more patient as he walked to catch up with the girl. She stayed by him, occasionally dancing around him as he walked her over to the far end of camp. I shook my head and went to sit in the corner, resting my head on the bars behind me, and wondering why I had to be created to get into this mess.

I woke up to the watery dawn light and the feeling of the speeder slowing down. Ahead was a laser fence, making the complex inside look more like a prison than a re-education center. I grunted and slid down a bit more, relaxing against the bars. The girl was in the corner across from me, wide-eyed, staring at me. "We're going to the bad place. I heard the Storm men talking about it. They said that we are going to learn how to be proper people, instead of animals. We are going to learn the hard way, they said." Her lower lip trembled and tears gathered in her eyes. I sighed and sat up, then opened my arms wide, inviting her over. The girl ran over and threw herself into my arms. "You're going to be okay. Just pretend you believe what they say, but remember what you believe in. Just keep your beliefs quiet and you'll be fine." She nodded, her head pressed into my chest. "Mamma would say that you have a strong heart. It beats loud and steady, and you've turned against the Storm men, even though you know they're going to hurt every person that goes against them. Mamma says that strong hearts don't break easily, and they make good leaders." She looked up at me, green eyes wide. "Are you going to lead us away from the Storm men one day?" I sighed and patted her shoulder as we passed through the gate. "I don't know, kid. I wish I could promise you to get you out of here, but to do that, I have to stay alive. I can't promise anything at this point." She looked down and nodded. "You need to be a strong heart, too, okay kid?" She smiled up at me and nodded before crawling back to her corner, as we pulled up to the front doors of the compound. I tucked up against the bars as one by one, prisoners entered the compound, some kicking and screaming, some slouched over with their escort simply guiding them. "Don't fight them, kid," I murmured before I closed my eyes. I leaned my head back and waited patiently, listening to the shuffle of feet, and the screams of the prisoners who fought. "Your turn." I opened my eyes as a trooper unlocked the door, Captain Rex standing to his right, head turned to me. The trooper pointed to the girl and beckoned her over. "Come on, kid." She stood up slowly, looking at me nervously. I waved her away and rested my head against the bars, watching her climb out slowly through slitted eyes. She reached up and took the trooper's hand as she climbed out, holding onto it tight as he walked with her to the compound. Anger clawed it's way up my throat as I watched her go, following another kid. "Smasher. Your turn." I looked at Rex sharply, glaring at him. He held the door open, his helmet hiding his expression. "Wouldn't you be happier leaving me in here to starve? Better than I deserve, again?" I heard him sigh. He stepped into the cage and stood in the center. Then he did something that surprised me. He got down on one knee and took off his helmet, showing me his grave expression and looked me in the eye. "This isn't something I agree with," he said quietly. I narrowed my eyes at him, sitting up a bit. "Then why are you here, doing this?" He rubbed his face, letting his helmet drop in the mud. He stared off behind me. "Because the man that is leading this war along with the Emperor was the General I was assigned to. He was one of the best Generals of the Jedi, and I was proud to serve with him. Before this moment, I felt tied to him, still, despite the fact that he doesn't have me fight alongside him much anymore. Before now, I haven't seen this place." I snorted. "So you're still loyal to one of the men that brought down the Republic we fought for." I leaned forward and pointed a finger at him. "At least _I _had the courage to make up my mind, even if that made me a dead man the moment I did." Rex flinched and looked down, before looking up, a fire burning in his eyes. "Look, you didn't see what I did out there. Didn't have to see the casualty count that I did. I'd seen brothers turned against each other by the very General that had been leading us. We killed each other, thinking they were the enemy. Both sides. I'd fought through the worst conditions with General Skywalker. He'd saved my skin, and I'd saved his. Those kinds of experiences tie bond people more than you can understand, if you can't comprehend my loyalty to the man I had fought beside." I sat back, remembering Sharp. I turned my head away from him, clenching a fist. I looked back at Rex, and I hoped that he could see all the pain I was feeling in my eyes. "Have you seen a brother killed by men you had seen as brothers? Because he wouldn't execute a Jedi? Have you had to burn that brother after you watched him get shot by his brothers? Because I have. I wouldn't align my loyalty to any man that didn't have sympathy for the men he used to fight alongside." With that, I stood and stepped out the door. I stopped and waited for Rex as he jumped out, his helmet wiped off and placed on his head. "Let's go." He led me to the door, a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged his hand off as I walked through the door. Troopers were lined up along the wall, wearing armor with orange streaked across it, identifying them from the troopers that had brought the prisoners. Identifying them as out captors and soon, our tormentors. A heavily marked trooper came up, looking straight at me. I assumed he was the warden, but I stood my ground, refusing to cave in during the first moments here. He must have seen Rex, because he stood at attention and saluted. "Sir. I heard you were escorting the traitor here. I didn't expect you to see to his detainment." "At ease." Rex came into view as the warden relaxed. "Yes, I stayed to see him detained. I will also be staying to oversee his progress during his re-education." The warden hesitated before nodding. "Yes, sir. If you require anything, any of my troopers will be happy to assist you, should you ask. For now, Pry will be escorting the traitor to his cell." Rex nodded. "Then I'll be going with him." He waited for a moment as a Trooper came up and stood there, ready to take me. "Go ahead, Trooper. It's your job." Pry nodded and took my arm, leading me forward. I turned my head to study him. He was a shiny, I could tell. His armor was shamefully pristine for a soldier, and his grip on my arm was loose enough that if I turned the right way, he wouldn't be able to hold me. I scoffed quietly, earning a glance from the rookie. "You're a rookie," I stated. He looked straight ahead again, saying nothing. Amusement rose in me as he turned his head to me slightly. "Why are you here?" I looked down for a moment, then looked back up at him, letting the fire inside of me burn in my eyes. "I disobeyed an Order that was wrong. I don't regret it, and if I were given the option to go back and choose to do it differently, I wouldn't. I'd do it all over again." The rookie stared at me for a moment, then stopped me in front of a cell. "Here's home." He scanned a card and the laser barrier deactivated. I stepped in as Pry released my arm. To my surprise, there were two bunks. One was filled with two people, both with their backs turned to me, on the top. I heard the laser barrier activate behind me, and with an inward sigh, I walked over to the empty bunk. I rested my head on the top bunk, closing my eyes for a moment. My head was pounding again, and I could hear static in my ears. I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the scars underneath my fingers, and tender flesh under them. "You're a Stormtrooper," one stated quietly. I shook my head, not even bothering to lift it. "No, I'm a clone trooper." There was silence, for which I was grateful, because the static in my ears was growing louder, and pressure was building behind my eyes. I gasped and dropped down to a crouch as sharp pain shot up the back of my neck and into my head. I grasped my neck and squeezed my eyes shut, willing the pain to go away. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and my shoulders tensed even further as I tried to catch my breath. "A past injury?" I looked up through the pain to see my twi'lek cellmate being the one holding my shoulder. I gritted my teeth and nodded. He gave my shoulder a gentle pat and crouched down behind me, moving my hand away from my neck. "My people have ways that block the pain. Certain points on the spine and beside, if you press on them-" he pressed beside my spine on my neck, and a jolt of pain shot up my neck before it eased away, and my headache lessened a bit. "-they block the nerves telling your brain that your past injuries hurt." He pressed on a few more places, on and off my spine. "And don't worry about any damage. There is none. Of course, when we begin learning, it's not promised." I looked up at him to see him grinning. He held out a hand to me. I took it and stood with a boost from him. "My name is Jagathi. I guess we'll be spending our days together, until one or both of us are removed from here." I nodded. "I'm Smasher." I heard feet hit the ground and looked behind me, and to my surprise, saw another clone. He had the Republic symbol tattooed on his head, and looked about as old as Rex, if not, slightly younger. "I'm Jesse," he said, holding out his hand. I took it, outwardly staring at him. He chuckled. "Never seen a brother before?" I shook my head, clearing it. "Sorry. I just didn't think that there would be any troopers that went against this in here." Jesse snorted. "Oh, there's plenty. Just spread out throughout this place." He smirked at me. "There's plenty of interesting creatures here. Like a kushiban." I raised my eyebrows. "A _what?"_ Jesse laughed and stepped aside, revealing another being on top of the bunk they were sitting on. "Umm... What is that thing?" It had large multi-colored eyes, a long tail, and floppy ears. It was an odd light blue and tan colored, and was licking it's hind leg before my question. It looked up at me. "I am a kushiban, and my name is Ranjit. Do _not_ mistaken me for a pet, human." He went back to licking his hind leg, paying us no more attention. "He has the attitude of a cat," Jesse mock whispered. We all burst out into laughter as Ranjit gave an indignant snort. Jesse nodded once after a moment. "Well, I guess you're bunking with me. You get the top. Newbies don't get the choice." He had a glint of humor in his voice, but he mostly just sounded tired. I nodded. "Thanks." Jagathi laughed. "I have a feeling you won't be thanking him if you sleep in, you poor piece of meat." I gaped at him as he chuckled and laid down on the bottom part of the other bunk. I shook my head and climbed onto the top bunk, letting myself fall into a laying position. I closed my eyes, laying an arm over my eyes. I could hear the soft sounds of the others settling down to sleep, as I laid there awake. I wondered where Nisha and Nitya were, if they made it back to the others, and where specifically they were headed. I sighed and turned onto my side, facing the wall. I relaxed, setting my mind in the quiet place Sharp had taught me to create and use when I needed it. By now, I heard soft voices tainting it, whispering of the things I'd done, and telling me how I'll never make it out of this compound alive. I shut them out, squeezing my eyes tightly shut. "Can't sleep, human?" I moved my arm off my eyes and looked down to see Ranjit sitting next to me, his long bushy tail curled around him. To my surprise, he was white and orange now. I shook my head. "I slept on the way over here. I thought you were blue and tan earlier?" Ranjit chuckled, looking quite pleased with himself in the red lighting of the laser barrier. "Yes, I was." He sat there, watching me with his amused eyes. "Well then why are you a different color?" He sighed, as if exasperated, but the amusement stayed in his eyes. "My fur color changes with my emotions, human. As a way to help your inferior minds comprehend us." I snorted and shook my head. "You have quite an ego, don't you?" Ranjit wheezed a laugh. "_Me_," he purred, all innocence and amusement. I sighed and shook my head, a hint of amusement creeping up inside me. "Yes, you." Ranjit closed his eyes to a slit. "So, tell me, why are you _really_ here? If you were smart enough to have kept to the Republic, then why are you here?" I pressed my lips together, studying the odd creature in front of me. "Well?" He pressed. "I did leave," I began carefully. Ranjit's fur turned pure orange, now, as he peered at me curiously. "I disobeyed Order 66, and you'll probably hear a bit about it, so I'm not going to talk about the details. But I was living alone. I was moving from place to place in the forest, keeping away from the Stormtroopers for a while. Then, I decided it was time to do something. I made an attempt to free the prisoners. That's why I'm here. Otherwise I'd be out in the forest still." Light blue streaked through Ranjit's fur, making his fur look odd with the mix of orange and blue. "Why would you do something so foolish? The must have been an underlying reason." I shook my head. "No. There isn't." Jesse's voice came from under my bed. "Then Ranjit's right, except he should have used the word _stupid_. And if you're actually _not_ stupid in that way, but you just don't trust us, it's stupid. One way or another, brother, you need to get smarter. It makes it easier to survive if you have the brains to make it." I stared down at the floor beside our bunk in surprise. I heard Ranjit chuckle beside me. "That one has gotten smarter since he got here. I've taught him well." Jesse snorted. "There's not much you've said that I haven't already learned through experience, Ranjit. Maybe the lesson _you_ should learn is to quit being so full of yourself." Ranjit narrowed is eyes down at Jesse as I held back a good laugh. His fur turned bright red, and I wondered if he was angry, or just annoyed. Ranjit sniffed and stood. "Good night, human. I suggest you get some rest. Tomorrow will be a harsh day for you and everybody else. You'll need the rest for it." With that, he turned and left me sitting up, watching his progress across the room and to his own bed. I shook my head, left with the mystery of the kushiban, and I wondered if they were all this way.


	10. Chapter 10

An alarm blared, startling me into rolling off my bed and into a crouch, ready to fight. As my eyes cleared up fully, I realized nothing was wrong as my cellmates groaned and sat up, rubbing their eyes.

Jesse looked at me, still in my fighting stance, and chuckled. "Good morning. Enjoy the wake-up call?"

I relaxed and stood up straight, running my hands through my hair and then over my face. "Yeah. Nice way of them waking us."

Jagathi snorted. "They don't aim for 'nice' here, those scrogging sith-spawn." He scowled at the laser barrier as if they were standing there at the moment.

Jesse nodded. "Yeah. They prefer to get you out of bed quick and easy, have you out of your room, and get more 'rehabilitation' in than let you fiddle around."

I shook my head.

"I'm surprised they didn't catch me right away. I ran the first two weeks listening to every twig snap in the woods, thinking that they were right behind me, ready to kill me."

The others stared at me, as if I had said something in a completely foreign language.

I looked down, then turned to my bed, rearranging my blankets, straightening them until there wasn't a wrinkle in sight. Even then, I kept smoothing the blankets out, leaving it perfectly set as Jesse and the others got ready to go.

I heard footsteps, then the laser barrier deactivating.

"Time to go, boys."

I looked behind me, surprised to see Rex standing there, holding armor, as an armored Jesse, uniformed Jagathi, and rumpled Ranjit stepped past him, to a waiting Stormtrooper.

I took a step to go after them, but Rex held out a hand, stopping me.

"You need to wear your armor. I brought you some."

He held it out to me, and as I took it, I realized that it was the armor I had been wearing when I was captured.

My heart beat fast as Rex left me to stand outside and wait, and I turned away, setting my armor on my bed.

I put on my armor, now cleaned and shined, and, checking to make sure Rex wasn't watching, checked the space in my belt where I had tucked the holocron away.

The blood rushed through my veins, and it was all I could hear as my fingers made contact with the holocron. I let out a soft sigh of relief and moved my hand away, turning to face the laser barrier.

"I'm ready," I called out to Rex.

He turned and deactivated the barrier, waving me out, and took the lead. He was silent for a moment, then glanced at me.

"How are you settling in, kid?"

I snorted. "How am is _supposed_ to be settling in? What do you want me to say? 'I _love_ being here! My cellmates are _so_ friendly, we stayed up all night talking about how we can't wait for this living nightmare to begin! I think today is going to be wonderful!' No. I don't want to be here. I'd rather be out of this Force-forbidden place and on my way."

Rex sighed. "I didn't expect you to be happy about being here, or about you beginning. I don't expect you to be happy about any of this... Especially when the re-education actually begins full-on."

He was silent for a moment before going on quietly.

"They'll start you off slow, with some evaluations, mostly physical. The mental stuff doesn't come until later, from what I've seen in their documents. They hold you back in the physical stuff if one or both of these things happen. One: In the physical re-education, if you're not physically up to date, they will hold you back until you are. Two: If you can't handle the mental challenges, they throw you right back into the physical, then test the waters again later. It's a long process for some."

I couldn't see Rex's expression because of his helmet, but his silence told me enough. He has at least one brother here that hasn't been making progress.

"Well, what happens if you don't make any progress for a long time?"

Rex took off his helmet, his expression fierce. "Don't try it, kid. They won't take kindly to you fighting them by holding yourself back. The beginning is acceptable, barely, but it is. After three weeks, it gets old. I've seen too many reports already of 'patients' being terminated because of the fact that they fought this every step of the way."

He looked straight ahead, then back at me as he pointed to a door. "That one."

Rex replaced his helmet and opened the door.

Inside, there were several tables, with bench seats, stretched across the room. This was the mess hall. I knew one when I saw it, having grown up with one. Serving stations were at the front, with a line snaking around the right side of the room.

Rex walked with me as I went to stand in line, drawing attention to myself and the captain.

"So now you tag along," I asked irritably.

"We still need to talk."

I snorted. "Yeah? What about?"

Rex turned his head to look at me. "About your lack of caring whether you get out of this 'Force-forbidden' place. You obviously have _something_ to take care of, whether that be a lost item, the one Vox was talking about, or a person. Whatever it is, you seem to have forgotten about that, and it's important that you remember."

I shook my head. "What do you care? It's not like it's important to you. Even if it _was_ an item or a person, I wouldn't go prancing right back to it and hand it to you when you reveal that you followed me to get it."

I stepped forward with the line, halfway to the serving station. Still too far away to get out of this conversation.

Rex shook his head. "I'm not interested in taking anything from you. Person or item. I don't care about that."

I looked at him, my curiosity peaking. "Why, then? Why do you care?"

He looked down that the ground, silent as the line steadily moved forward. I was almost sure he wasn't going to answer, when he answered before he took his place,to receive his food.

"Because there are things I need to make up for, even if I can't make up for all of them."

I was directed to a table full of clones, some talking in hushed voices, and some completely silent. I walked down the table, looking for a break, when someone moved aside.

"Sit here."

I stopped and set my tray down in the empty spot.

"Thanks."

He grunted in reply, picking at his food, his head down, avoiding the face of his helmet, which sat in the center of the table, as required.

I set my helmet in the same fashion, thinking to myself how this was like growing up in the Kamino cloning facility all over again, minus the helmets, armor, and impending-doom feel.

I took a bite of my food, which was surprisingly decent, considering it was a re-education center. My assumption was it was going to be a silent meal, but I was proven wrong.

"I heard you were given Order 66."

I stopped mid-bite, then set my utensil down.

"Yeah. What about it?"

He looked at me, the left side of his face covered in scars, and his eye clouded over. His other eye was full of hope.

"The Jedi. I heard you didn't kill him... Did he survive?"

I was silent as replies ran through my mind. _I don't know... I don't know, I didn't stick around long enough to find out... Maybe, but the chances aren't good for him... I saw him run off, does that count?_

I looked him in the eye. "I hope so. He wasn't killed that I saw, and I was their target after I took the false shot warning him away from the secondary trap. He ran off, so I assume that he is."

The trooper nodded, dropping his gaze, but hope still burned in his eye.

I took a bite of my food, thinking of the Jedi, Ansula Himanshu, and how his daughters were now alone, heading north, while I was stuck here, taken away from my duty to them.

"I'm Rider," the trooper next to me stated.

I stared at him for a moment, then nodded once. "I'm Smasher."

Rider nodded, looking back down at his plate.

I studied him as I ate, chewing slowly. He had his hair cut short, although everybody else here did, too. The next thing I noticed was a spot on his skin, on the side of his neck, that looked as if it had been carefully burned.

Rider looked at me then, as I was studying it.

"They removed the Republic tattoo I had there. I had been proud of being a soldier of the Republic, and they stripped me of my tattoo as they are trying to strip me of my pride of being a soldier of the Republic."

I shook my head. "This isn't right, what they're doing here."

"No, but what are we going to do about it? Rebel? That will only get you killed here. Believe me, you're better off keeping it in your mind than fighting them tooth and nail on everything."

I stared down at my plate, thinking this over.

"Why don't you guys put on their armor and sneak out of here?"

Rider snorted. "If only it were that easy. They tattoo a bar code on you, it'll identify you for them, they scan you into your appointed 'classes' and evaluations of the day. When the soldiers even go _near_ the exits, they have to get checked-on their wrists, where they tattoo us- and prove they're not one of us." Rider showed his arm, showing his bar code.

It was a regular-looking bar code, the only difference was the new Imperial mark at the end, boasting their ownership of us.

"I haven't been marked yet," I stated quietly.

He shook his head. "No, not until after your physical examination and tests. They need to know how much work will need to be done, if you're even worth wasting ink on. _Then_ they'll mark you as theirs."

I stared down at my half empty plate, no longer hungry.

"So now I become a piece of property again. I guess that's how it'll always be. There's no escaping that, is there?"

Rider looked away, pushing his own food around his plate.

It seemed neither of us had much of an appetite anymore.

I sat on a cold, hard examination table, waiting for the medic to come in.

I eyed the probes, the metal cabinets, all locked up, and various jars holding unknown items.

My gaze turned to the trooper standing by the door, out of the way, but able to catch me if I tried anything.

The medic came in, wearing armor, to my surprise. He didn't have his helmet on, showing his Imperial tattoo on the side of his near-bald head. In his hand was a datapad, and he was reading it as he leaned against the counter topped cabinets.

"Alright, so you are CT-9698, also known as 'Smasher', correct?"

"Yes."

"Alright, well, I'm Trell, I'll be taking care of any of your physical examinations, health problems, vaccinations and so on."

He studied the datapad in front of him, his forehead slightly creased in concentration.

It was a moment before he looked up, and he set the datapad on the counter.

"Alright, your record says you had an injury on the back of your neck, correct?"

I nodded.

"Does it cause you any pain? Throbbing occasionally? Sharp pain that comes and goes? Anything."

"It does tend to hurt occasionally. It's not bad, though," I lied.

He nodded, coming to my right side and lifting my hair to take a look.

I could feel his fingers beside the scar, then on it, pressing lightly and checking around it.

"Records say that you acquired this injury from an explosion, sheltering your brother from the shrapnel of the vehicle. Correct?"

"Yes."

Trell grunted in response, moving back to the counter and tapping something into the datapad.

"You seem to be clear of any shrapnel, but I would do a scan, to make sure. Your record doesn't indicate any scan being done after your injury, and even though the medic did remove shrapnel, he may have not seen a smaller piece, embedded deeper. We'll just have to find out."

I shook my head. "That's not necessary. Clip's a good medic, I trust him, that he got it all."

Trell raised an eyebrow at me.

"You may trust him, but considering you were taken care of in camp instead of a facility, there's a possibility that he wasn't aware of something deeper. Even the best medics can miss something like that without the proper equipment."

I frowned at him, but said nothing. I was sure that Clip removed everything, and I wasn't too happy about a rookie coming in and telling me otherwise.

"Alright, let's get your bloodwork and we can move on to the fun stuff."

I stood on a running track, being fitted with heart monitors and other items I can't even guess as to what they're for.

Trell patted me on the shoulder. "Alright, you're good to go. Just wait for the trooper to come out, and we'll get you started."

I watched him leave, into the observation room on my right. I looked down at my right arm, frowning at the black item wrapped around my arm and the wires climbing up to my neck, where something was strapped on the back of my neck. The heart monitor was a simple patch with the numbers being displayed, something only the medic understood, I assumed.

"CT-9698. You will be running around this track once. You will stop once you cross this line. You may not deviate from this track for any reason. This will simply test your physical capabilities simply running. We will be timing you. The goal is to get back across this line in good time, while we take records of your physical exertion. Do you understand?"

I nodded, watching as the trooper stood to my left, off the track.

"Get ready, then. I'll tell you when to start."

I set myself slightly low, setting one leg out behind me enough to give myself a good start.

"Begin."

I took off running, the motion coming easily to me.

I remembered the quiet days on base that Vox used to make any free troopers go running, keeping us in shape for battle. Sharp and I were some of the few that like to hear those orders. We'd race around the base walls, and the troopers on guard duty would cheer us on, shouting for either Sharp or I, some even making bets, as we ran, shoving each other and laughing.

My throat tightened and I ran faster. I could almost feel him next to me, challenging me the whole way, calling me slow even when we were both neck to neck.

I was surprised when the line loomed ahead of me, with the trooper standing beside it.

I slowed to a stop as I crossed the line.

Trell came out, looking impressed and surprised.

"You're barely acting as if you ran a Kilometer! I hardly see the rookies acting so nonchalant about it, and they're the ones that find it easier!"

I just shrugged, watching as he scanned the information into the datapad.

"How were you able to do that? You ran faster than even our Elite, and hardly exerted yourself!"

I just shrugged.

Trell worked quietly for a minute, then spoke again. "You've been out for a while that's why I can't quite understand this."

"I ran a lot, with a brother before I left. Then I became used to running. From the Empire, from predators, and to clear my mind. It's something familiar to me."

He nodded, releasing me from the last monitor. "You're good to go. I'll have a trooper escort you to your next assigned location."


End file.
